Spirits in the Air
by pokecutie
Summary: Aurora had to run away to save herself and she unintentionally ran away to Victory Island, an island where every resident of the island whether they are native or have moved there find success in their love life. Contains strong language and sexual themes
1. The Trip Getting Here

Spirits in the Air

Pokémon and locations mentioned in this story belongs to Gamefreak, Nintendo, etc. If you're not 18 years or older, then don't read this

Words in italics would mean either the main character's thoughts or because words are being stressed. It depends on the situation so be sure to pay attention when you read

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Chapter 1 - The Trip Getting Here

Running. Panting. Adrenaline pumping in the brain. These are all things that I am experiencing right now. I'm running through the Eternal Forest in the outskirts of Eternal City, dodging every branch and jumping over any rocks and poking tree roots. In addition to that, I'm trying to find my way through nighttime, too. I just could not believe all this is happening to me, having to run away for the sake of my future.

_Man, how did all of this happen? Thinking back on it, everything that's happened probably started that morning…_

I got up at 7:30 in the morning like I always do. I've personally wanted to sleep in a little later but Nana probably won't hear of it. Ah, Nana. The old lady who have taken of me since birth. She's technically my mother but, considering she was in her early 70's when I was a baby, she's old enough to be my grandmother.

Anyways, we spent the morning like how we usually do. I do a basic and quick exercise session while Nana makes us breakfast for us to eat. It would take about a half hour, more or less. After eating breakfast, I would shower quickly while Nana got everything ready for us to work out in the forest outside of town. We would go sometimes to the local workout gym but Nana thinks it's too soft of a workout. The same for the shallow end of the forest so we go deeper to fight the tougher Pokémon. Today was one of those days we would go to deep end of the forest.

We didn't fight that many Pokémon there because they've gotten to know us, including the fact we can take them on in a fight. So we pretty much crossed unfavorable terrain and tackled trees and took makeshift showers under the waterfall. Huh. Lots of people would think an old woman shouldn't do all that stuff. Maybe they really shouldn't but they're not Nana. Yeah, Nana could take a Pokémon by herself without needing one of her own. That's how tough she is and it's great that a Lopunny like me is raised by her, both physically and as a child.

Yeah, people who see us aren't shocked to find Nana training a Pokémon. What they're surprised by is that I'm a Lopunny. It annoys me that they get surprised by that because they think I'm more talented at looking pretty and seductive than I am at battling. Nanas says that gives her all the more reason to train me and make me strong. Thanks to our training, they don't challenge neither Nana nor me to a fight. They must be thinking that if a human is that strong, then a Pokémon she trains is even stronger. I hope this doesn't arrogant, especially if I tell someone this, but I think I _am_ prettier than any other Lopunny you come across, except for maybe a shiny Lopunny. After all, I have blue-green eyes and my brown fur is born with red highlights that shows whenever I'm in the sunlight. My yellow ear fluff is a bit more unruly than the average Lopunny, too; it must be from the kind of training I do.

Pokémon or not, though, Nana still loves me and that's another great thing about her. Now, let's sseeeeeee… getting back on track… oh, yeah! We were almost done with our workout. I'm sure that was when things started getting weird.

Things got frightening first because Nana all of sudden collapsed right in front of me. I didn't think that would happen, what with Nana being as tough as she is. The water was – thank Arceus! – not so deep. It would've been bad if I had to fish out an unconscious old lady out of deep waters. Man, I was so scared. I thought I would lose her. That was a shock because Nana is a tough woman. She's so tough I didn't think there was anything that could knock her down. Or kill her.

It turns out, according to the doctors, Nana had a heart attack. They told me it was treatable and there was a chance they can save her so they took her to the operating room. They realized that I must be friendly cause I took Nana to the hospital when she obviously looked like she was in critical pain. Because of that, I was put into a room where the Pokémon belonging to patients play while waiting for their human partners to recover from something that won't make them stay for a long time. The room next door is for Pokémon whose human partners who _are_ going to stay for a long time but the Pokémon who didn't have anywhere else to go or if the patient and their Pokémon didn't want to be separated. That was a very nice service for a hospital.

I had the most unwanted encounter with someone in that room. I had a feeling someone was staring at me. Whoever was staring was concentrating on all the wrong places. As casually as I could, I looked around to see if I could get a look at whoever was looking at _me_. After checking a few times, I found out it was the Machamp and Gengar nearby. I was hoping those doctors would hurry up and save Nana cause I'm not sure what to do if – and when by the looks of it – one of them or even both of them come up to me.

That's the thing about becoming ridiculously strong. The more time you spent becoming that strong, the less time you spent socializing with others. I've been trained by Nana to recognize it when someone tries to trick me as well as fighting when things start to get physical. The thing is I'm not sure I know how to get away from them peacefully. Nana and I have some friends but we're not all that close to them. I might get kicked out of this hospital because of all that.

It turned out my hopes were all for naught when both of those Pokémon approached me. I didn't quite see it when I was checking if they were looking at me and right then and there I was able to see it: their eyes had this seriously scary gleam in their eyes. My guess was they were thinking of doing things to me. My guess was this thing called sex. Yeah, Nana and I have talked about it before but I don't have any experience in that kind of thing _at all_.

"Hey there, cutie," the Gengar said. His smile widened all too wide.

The Machamp was getting all too handsy, one of those four hands trying to wrap me up around the shoulder. It was a good thing I got around that, especially since I saw another one of his hands trying to touch the small of my back. These guys were way too forward.

"You guys have anything _important_ to talk to me about?" I purposely stressed out the word 'important' to let these guys know if they are going to do Arceus-knows-what, then there's going to be hell to pay.

"Hey, relax, we just wanted a chat. Ain't that right, Machamp?" the sleazy-looking spirit asked.

The fighting-type Octillery nodded his head. He's still trying to put his hands on me.

"And what is it that you wanted to have a chat with me about?" I questioned.

"We were wondering if your trainer, master, or whatever you call them was ok. Pokémon are only in this room because their humans came down with something or got hurt. Our trainer got hurt but he'll be fine."

"They'll be fine, too."

"Oh, really now? Well, that's good. Hey, what do you like to do for fun?"

_Not sex, if that's what he was hoping to have fun with me on_.

The ghost in front of me was really pissing me off at that moment. He even said what he said as if he thought Nana was going to make it.

"I like to tackle trees, take a dip in rivers with stinging Tentacool, and meeting Pokémon that make thank your lucky stars when, and if, you get out of the encounter alive."

The Gengar's smirking mouth twitched a bit but continued his undesirable flirting. "Oooooh, a witty girl. I like that. You know what else I like? That fur and those fluffy ears you have. You mind if I touch?"

Speaking of touch, the Machamp was trying to touch the entire time I was being flirted with. He was obviously a male of action, not words. Right at that moment when that ghost asked, my ear fluff was roughly grabbed. Without thinking about it, almost like instinct, I yanked my ear fluff out of his hand, turned around, and kicked him right in the face in the process. Hey, that's what someone gets when they roughly grab a Lopunny's ear fluff. It's not just me.

The Pokémon around us turned around towards the commotion. That ghost didn't make things any better with his next words.

"Hey! What's your problem!? Why did you do that!?"

It was right at that moment a man in a white coat and a Lucario came in.

"What is going on in here? Tell my Lucario and she'll tell me with telepathy!" he instructed to generally all the Pokémon in the room.

That ghost turned to the Lucario and said pretty much the same things. "It was that Lopunny! We were just making small talk with her while we waited for our trainer to feel better when she all of a sudden kicked my friend!"

The Lucario then turned to me, hopefully for my side of the story. "Those two guys were making me uncomfortable and his friend touched me roughly and inappropriately. I didn't think about the kicking when I did it."

The blue and black canine nodded and turned to the man next to her. She repeated what that ghost said and then what I said.

After what looked like thinking for about a minute, he said to us, "I guess there's no helping it. Gengar," he said to the slightly surprised spirit, "if you didn't make Lopunny uncomfortable, there would've been no kicking. I'm afraid you and Machamp are going to have to leave."

Thank Arceus so much. There was still no word of Nana and I definitely wouldn't want to spend the entire time waiting with guys like these.

That ghost started to protest, but the man whipped out a pokeball.

"I'm warning you right now. I have a Spiritomb in this pokeball and he is almost a _monster_ when in battle."

That ghost stopped protesting and, with an annoyed look on his face, left the room. The man followed and his Lucario dragged the still-unconscious Machamp out of the room behind him.

"Thanks," I thanked her, as she was leaving.

"No prob, girl," she replied. "By the way, I have a name, as surprising as that is. It's Christie."

She managed to close the door behind her and the rest of the wait was pretty much boring. None of the other Pokémon wanted to get close to me after what happened. Even if I did have a good reason for giving a hard foot to the face, the other Pokémon for some reason think I'm scary or maybe even dangerous. Well, that didn't bother me much. Especially if I didn't have to deal with confrontations like I did with that ghost and his friend.

The man from before came in again, accompanied by Christie. The looks on their faces did not look good to me.

"Lopunny, I regret to tell you this, but... the lady you brought in here… she has passed away."

Yep, that's why the looks on their faces didn't look good to me. Worst fears are realized.

I turned to Christie, and said, with the threat of a cracking voice and watering eyes coming out, "I want to see Nana."

She nodded once again and turned to tell the man. He allowed it and led me to the room with Nana. There she was, under the bed sheets. I made out her hand from the sheets and held it. I rested my head on her chest and cried into it, still holding onto her hand the entire time. We had so many memories together, spent so many years together, and endured all the bad things together. It was so unbelievable to me that's she gone.

It was a long while before I lifted my head up again. Christie and the man I thought of by now as Christie's human partner came into the room. They were there in the room for a few minutes after I started crying but left for a while. They came back in a few minutes after I was done.

Christie's human partner began, "Lopunny, before I brought you here, I checked this woman's record and it showed you were her Pokémon. That was why I allowed you to be here. The woman's record also showed her grandson is her only living relative left. If you're not claimed by her grandson within a year, you'll be released into the wild."

_Claimed by her grandson? Nana never told about a grandson of hers._

Those were my thoughts at the time. At first I felt a bit betrayed by Nana for not telling me about her grandson. Now I feel like she's done me a favor all this time, especially when I think back to when I first met the two-faced monster.

I was taken by another person who worked in the hospital to the Pokémon Center. I was surprised to find that it's been hours since I took Nana to the hospital. It was already the evening. We found the Pokémon Center and told Nurse Joy of my predicament. Nurse Joy was more than glad to let me stay until Nana's grandson came to pick me up or until a year was up. Whichever one came first. I didn't have to wait long for the first one, though.

A half hour later, Nurse Joy's Pokémon partner, Chansey, came in to get me. She said Nana's grandson came to pick me up. I wasn't too eager of the idea of meeting a relative of Nana that I have never met, but then again, it was a relative of Nana. I thought it was fine because I loved Nana so much. Man, I'm glad I realized I was wrong before it was too late.

He looked like an appealing teenage boy, with ice blue eyes and black hair shooting up. He was really friendly and liked flashing that shiny smile of his. I'd swear the dude liked to eat pure white snow to make his teeth so white. He wore a black shirt under a camouflage green vest. He wore matching pants and a pair of black army boots. He introduced himself to me and Nurse Joy. His name was Tristan and he was 17 years old.

Tristan filled out necessary forms and all that stuff he had to fill out first. There was apparently more than just showing to the place where I was when it came to picking up a Pokémon of a deceased relative. The evening was almost over by the time he was done. Nurse Joy insisted that we stay at the Pokémon Center for the night but Tristan insisted even more that we go on our way. Finally, Tristan won out and we left.

We were heading over to Tristan's house and we had to go through Eternal Forest first. While we were walking, he was talking. He kept talking and we kept walking until it became dark. Tristan told me Nana told him all about me and how much fun it was being with me. The reason why I never heard of him is because he's always on a journey and often forgets to call Nana, let alone come home to visit. Nana didn't want me to beg her to see a relative who I would likely won't see in a long time.

That sounds like a weird story right there. Nana always tells me about all the relatives she knows and remembers, and they were all dead. She definitely would've told me about Tristan, considering he's alive. Another weird thing is that he's always called me Lopunny. Just like how Christie the Lucario has a name, I have a name, too. It's Aurora. I know it's kinda tricky to pronounce but he could call me by my nickname of my name, Ro. The only reason I even have that name was because Nana has seen the Aurora Borealis, Nana wanted to name me after something beautiful, and my many natural colors reminded her of the stunning natural wonder in the northern hemisphere. At least I think it's a natural wonder. Bottom line is if Nana really did tell Tristan all about me, then he would've known I had a name, what that name was, and the nickname of my name.

I wanted my pokeball right then and there. I tried getting his attention and pointing to his bag. Tristan probably thought I was hungry and whipped out a can of Pokémon food. I managed to grab that bag of his when his guard was down and leaped up to a nearby tall tree.

I poked around for my pokeball. It was fairly easy to find it cause Nana put a pink heart sticker on my pokeball to be able to tell which one is mine, should it get mixed with other pokeballs that look the same. I didn't notice, unfortunately for me, Tristan had whipped out a pokeball along with the can of Pokémon food. He let out the Pokémon that was in there: a Machamp.

I succeeded in fishing out my pokeball just in time before the tree shook. Tristan must've told that Machamp to ram the tree, hoping to get me down. I dropped the bag but held onto both the tree and my pokeball. I looked down. He looked pissed. Yeesh, one little action and he was so quick to drop his friendliness. I also noticed the Machamp he let out and a shiver ran down my spine. I recognized that Machamp. He was the same one who kept trying to touch me in the hospital! Chances are Tristan is the human partner of that Gengar from earlier, too.

I knew I definitely needed to get away; everything was too fishy to ignore. Machamp was getting ready to ram the tree again. I stuffed my pokeball into my ear fluff and I hoped even right now it hasn't fallen out. Even more so during that recent fight I got myself into when that grey Octillery with legs was starting to ram a second time.

I jumped off right before the tree actually fell down from the second impact. Of course, I managed to land on my feet gracefully. I turned around to see Tristan going through his bag again but taking out two pokeballs this time. He let out the Pokémon in them, too. They were a Rhyperior and Aggron.

"Rhyperior, use Poison Jab!" I no doubt dodged the attack but there was something about the Drill Pokémon's speed that alarmed me a little. It's almost as fast as mine…

"Aggron, Body Slam!" I would have avoided that one, too, but my guard was down that time. It gave the Iron Armor Pokémon the opportunity needed to slam me down to the ground.

Here's the part that shocked me the most: it actually hurt. The most pain I'd feel was as if someone was merely pinching me. I was still able to get up but Tristan then called this move.

"Rhyperior, use Hyper Beam! Aggron, combine it with Flash Cannon!"

Those two moves hurt like _hell_. I thought it was a miracle I was still able to get on my knees. I looked up and saw Tristan. He tsked.

"Lopunny, Lopunny, Lopunny. What in the world got into you? We could've started everything out smoothly. I would still pretend to be your friend but I saw you take your pokeball out of my bag. You were planning on leaving, weren't you? If you were, then I am not going to let that happen. You can't beat my Pokémon, anyways. Raising powerful Pokémon is what my family is renowned for, not just the old bat who raised you."

Well, it's obvious that's Tristan is my enemy. His Pokémon are my enemies, too. Speaking of them, I took a peek at the walking boulder and walking pile of iron. I so didn't like those two someones coming up from downstairs. I swear I'm going to make them go back down real quick.

"I believe," Tristan continued, "you have something to give me?"

He extended his hand. I spat at it.

"Fine, have it your way. Aggron, finish her with Brick Break. Then Machamp can carry the future addition to the Wavehouse," Tristan said as he backed away, giving some space for the command.

The Aggron walked towards me, readying his arm for Brick Break. I knew it would be the end should a fighting type move hit me. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be a problem but, this time, the move is coming from a Pokémon that is not like the others I've faced. With the first pump of adrenaline and a sudden burst of energy, I leaped towards the Aggron. He was surprised – everyone was – and it gave me the perfect chance to curl my fist, twist my arm, and hit him in the torso. Green, swirling light or energy enveloped my arm and transferred energy from my target to me. Thank Arceus Nana made sure I still remembered Drain Punch from my days as a Buneary.

I was equipped with newfound energy and everyone was still surprised. So grabbing another chance, I used another Drain Punch on the Rhyperior. I got a lot of newfound energy into me, thanks to the two targets being rock-types. I didn't want to take a third chance being up close with the Machamp so I readied a Shadow Ball. The crackling black orb hit the target in the torso, like the Aggron.

Even if it didn't knock him out, it would at least stun him and I can run away during all that commotion. Personally, it was a bit difficult at that moment to imagine one of my moves not knocking out a Pokémon. I mean, it's been years since the last time I needed to use more than one move to knock out an opponent in battle.

Well, I guess I eventually answered my own question of how things got to this. Now that I think about it, I don't think much of what happened to be a battle. It was more like a hit-and-run in my eyes. Well, whatever. As long as I get away from Tristan and his pokegoons.

"Aerodactyl, use Hyper Beam!" Then a huge, orange beam nearly hit me! I guess I spoke too soon about getting away. The next thing I know, I dodging Hyper Beams and tons of little rocks zooming at top speed towards me. The Aerodactyl apparently knows Stone Edge.

I managed to avoid getting hit for most of the time. From time to time, the attack landed. What's more is the more attacks that landed, the more it increased odds to me getting hit by those moves. I couldn't see an opportunity to get close to the flying fossil so that I can use Drain Punch again. If I didn't get newfound energy again, or if I couldn't get away right now, then who knows what's going to happen to me?

All I know is Tristan will force me to go somewhere called the Wavehouse. The Aurora who thought Tristan was still a good guy would've thought that's a cool name for a club. The Aurora now think it's just a cover for something else.

I was almost going to be struck with another blow again until, suddenly, I tripped. I have to admit that it was a little embarrassing. I mean, it was flat ground and who trips on flat ground?

Just as I was going to trip, I felt something brush against my paw. I grabbed it without thinking. I had my wits scared the hell out of me when I noticed a second after I grabbed whatever it is I grabbed that I was so many feet off the ground. Then I looked up. I saw that I took hold of a Drifblim passing by. A little unusual I didn't see any others because I thought this kind of Pokémon traveled in groups.

Again, whatever. I think I'll go able to get away _now_. I know Tristan had an Aerodactyl but I'm saying what I'm saying cause of the wind. The wind unexpectingly gotten strong today. It was so strong that it pushed me and Drifblim miles away from Tristan and his Aerodactyl by the time I looked in their direction. I'm not so sure because it was so far away but I think I saw them struggling to get up in the sky. I think I also saw Tristan struggling to look around him, no doubt trying to make me out from the wind. The reason why my ride had smooth sailing is likely because Drifblim wasn't fighting it. Going whichever way the wind blows, I guess. I just feel lucky that I kept hold of Drifblim, especially when I was surprised.

We've been up in the powerful air currents for a long time. I thought we would pass by something I could land on but, no, we're still up in the air. I could land ok from a certain height but if it's too high, then of course I could die. It's kinda obvious I would die cause we're over the clouds. (The winds actually carried us that high). I don't feeling like dying so I still didn't let go of Drifblim.

I was getting bored and my arms were getting tired. That changed when I noticed a Fearow. That bird came swooping towards and started attacking Drifblim!

"Hey! Leave us alone! Quit it!" I tried fending off the psycho bird with the crooked neck but I didn't know any moves to use that didn't require letting go of the only thing keeping me from falling to my death.

Then I noticed Drifblim swelling up. _That_ was when I let go.

_Seriously?! That Drifblim had Aftermath ability?!_

I fell towards either land or sea. Drifblim wouldn't have exploded if Fearow used a long-ranged attack because Aftermath damages the opponent a little bit if they knocked them out with a direct attack. And, of course, that Beak Pokémon had to use so many Fury Attacks and Drill Pecks combined with an Aerial Ace at the beginning of the assault.

It wouldn't matter, though, now that I think about it. Even if the crazy avian did use a long ranged attack instead of a direct one, Drifblim would've eventually had enough and both of us will still fall. If I was going to fall either way, I might as well as endure the landing without getting even more damage before I even come close to falling. I just hope the Blimp Pokémon was going to be ok. Even if Drifblim didn't mean to or even plan on helping me out, it was still a _huge_ favor done in my eyes.

I whooshed through the clouds, eyes clenched shut. I opened them and gasped. I couldn't believe my eyes, but there it was. There was a humongous island down below and it had a particular shape. My best description of it is that it looks like it was modeled after a Pokémon. The island's shape definitely didn't look humanoid. A stuffed toy is also a possibility but that seems way less likely to me.

I was still hurling towards that island while I was observing it and noting its details. Some noticeably tall trees caught my eyes. Maybe if I just turn my body towards the trees, then it can break my fall and perhaps I won't die. I mean, I can still die bumping into stuff that people would expect to break falls.

Still, an idea that increases my chances of living sounded good so I went with that. I was preparing for impact and then…

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Augh! Ow! Augh! Ow!" It was an endless stream of ow's with some augh's mixed in. It continued until, finally, I hit the ground. Technically, the ground hurt me. I was so very hurt. On the bright side of things, though, I'm alive and I can still get up.

"Ah, maaaaaann… My ear fluuuuuff…" I thought out loud when I took a look at myself to check for scars and stuff. I started to groom myself a little, like taking all the leaves, pieces of tree branch, and stuff out of my ear fluff. I also petted down some ruffled up fur from time to time. A few minutes passed as I was fixing myself up until I heard an amused smirk.

Of course, I just _had_ to turn my head to the direction of the smirk. I guess I should've tried avoiding getting into a fight what with the condition I was in, but I guess that, after everything I have been through, I'm not in the mood to handle any more bad things. It was still nighttime, so it was hard to make some of my surroundings out. I noticed I was in a fair-sized clearing, a good size should I get into a battle with whoever made that smirk. I was able to, however, make out a pair of bright blue eyes. Those eyes were there when I turned my head to the direction of that smirk, so I'm assuming it was this person, whoever they were.

"Hey, you ass! If you got something to say, then come over here and say it! If not, then go suck a cock!"

Then whoever was the owner of those bright blue eyes decided to come out in the little amount of moonlight that's shining down on us. The sight of this creature wasn't anything like I ever seen before.

They were bipedal like me, as in leg, arms, a torso, plus paws, etc. They also had fur, I think, but the similarities stop there. They were black from face to foot. The toes looked more like red claws; the fingers on the paws looked like that, too. An area on their upper torso was blacker than the rest of them. The blacker part was so big and poofy. There was a big red – I think? – hair on the top of their head. That was the biggest and poofiest part of them of all! It was also shaggy and had black tips here and there. It was being held somewhat in place by – I think again? – a scrunchie thingy that's the same color as their eyes. The red hair even turned black as it gone down past the scrunchie thingy and ended with a red tip. What I thought was the most notable feature was their face. Red markings and such were all over their face, including the insides of those pointed ears.

"Just like every other Pokémon in this god dammed island, you become awfully quick to change faces when you take a look at me," he said, the voice clearly masculine. "Although, the look on your face is quite a new one. It looks as if you've never seen anything like me before."

"That's because I haven't," I quipped back. "What Pokémon are you?"

"Well, aren't you stupid? I would beeeeee…," he began to answer, dramatically and slowly rising his arms up. Upon bringing them down swiftly, he finished, "Zoroark."


	2. One Hell of a Night

Sorry it took so long for another chapter. I was off on a trip and I couldn't finish this in time when I thought I could. Well, it's here now so enjoy!

Bold font stresses words even more than italics. Bold and italics combined stresses the word as much as I possibly can. If it's in bold print, even with italics, then it's not the character's thoughts.

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Chapter 2 – One Hell of a Night

"Zorark?" I asked. It was a tricky sounding name.

"Yeah, you're reeeeally stupid," he countered. He got closer to my face and repeated it slowly. "ZO-RO-ARK. You got that now?"

"What I got is that I'm going to call you Jerkwad. If you came over here just to make fun of me, then fuck off. I had a seriously rough time getting here, I'm pissed, and I'm dangerous when I'm pissed. I'm not your average Pokémon and it's not just because I'm a new face around here."

"Well, that makes two of us on the 'dangerous when pissed' part. You wouldn't want to mess with me, you bitchy big-ears."

"You black bastard, are you itching for a fight so much that you're willing to risk some of your limbs for it?"

"Is that supposed to be a challenge?" He looks as though I can't beat him. Either I don't know him very well or he doesn't know me very well. Either way, it's going to be a hell of a night for one of us.

"Yeah, it's supposed to a challenge, Jerkwad! Do you accept it or not!?"

"Ok, fine. I'll even let you throw the first punch," he declared. He stuck his head out for me to hit. Big mistake.

"DRAIN PUNCH!" My coated-in-green-light arm got the arrogant bastard right in the kisser. I even took note of his eyes when I socked him. They looked surprised, as if he didn't expect it to actually hurt. I got a whole ton of energy coursing through me. Whatever type of Pokémon Jerkwad is, it must've been super effective, judging by the amount of energy I got flowing through me.

"BOUNCE!" I leaped up high in the sky, only this time, I'm going to land. Hard. And without crash landing into a tree. Unfortunately for me, though, he saw it and dodged in time. I became a little alarmed when I saw how fast he moved. This was going to be one hell of a night for sure…

"SHADOW BALL!" More like rapid-fire Shadow Ball. I fire one after another. Some of them got the bastard in the commotion, but it didn't look like it did much damage. I have one more move but I shouldn't use that one until I absolutely have to.

"NIGHT DAZE!" Night Daze? Oh, man. What the hell is Night Daze? I thought I became familiar with every Pokémon move possible. A dark projection thing covering the whole clearing was emitted from Jerkwad's entire being and, even though it didn't get me, it bounced off all my Shadow Balls. I'm lucky I'm a normal-type so I could just brace myself for the ineffective move.

What the-?! There was fair distance between me and the guy and already here he is, right in front of me!

He must've saw an opportunity to strike because he called out, "TOXIC!"

Oh, dam it. Toxic will be a great big risk if I continue battling, since it's meant to whittle away at my health as the fight goes on. It will whittle away bigger and bigger amounts, too. I better beat this guy fast.

"SHADOW BALL!" I got him right in the chest. Maybe if I manage land a Bounce attack this time, I'll be able to win.

"BOUNCE!" I leap high in the air once more. It looks like I got him in my sights.

Until he rolls over like a Growlithe. Ugh, fuck dammit. What does a Lopunny have to do to successfully land a perfectly good Bounce attack these days?

Ugh. I felt a considerable jolt of pain just now. I felt another earlier but it was minor. I really need to beat this guy quickly.

"DRAIN PUNCH!" I yelled over and over. Drain Punch must be a super effective move to the black bastard because he's taking all of his efforts to dodge every single one. It's taking a toll on me, too. Shadow Ball doesn't seem to be very effective and Bounce doesn't seem to be working today, either. He's a jerkwad but he's a smart jerkwad. Toxic is slowly but surely becoming his edge and my downfall.

"LOW SWEEP!" Oh. No. That's a fighting-type move. I'm a normal-type Pokémon. If that move hits me, I'll be beaten. I just. . . can't believe it. This is going to be the first time in years that I lost a battle. It's even more of a big deal because I don't think Jerkwad is just going to gloat and leave should I lose this fight. If that's the case, then there's no telling what he's going to do.

I knew I had to get away. Again.

"SUBSTITUTE!" I knew this was a risky move, what with being afflicted with poisoning from Toxic and all. If I'm going to regret it greatly staying there in the same area as Jerkwad when I lose, though, then I might as well be somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere he can't find me.

I managed to teleport myself right near some bushes on the edge of the clearing. I saw in time for Jerkwad become wide-eyed when he realized he low-swept a dummy.

I have just a little bit of energy left. I just need to make it under the bushes and then he won't see me. Using all the strength I can muster, I lift myself up on my paws and knees and crawled closer to under the bushes.

I hear thrashing going on behind me; that's probably because Jerkwad is pissed off big time. Oh, well. I feel my entire being covered in leaves. I hope so because it was right then and there I fainted. I blacked out.

"Mmmm… Aah…" Man, do I feel groggy.

"Oh, good. You're awake. Here, drink this"

I may feel groggy but not enough to not recognize that voice. I knew that I had to get away I don't know how many times anymore. I try moving but, strangely and frighteningly, I can't. What's more is Jerkwad is trying to get me to drink something. I tried not to but he grabbed my face and forced my jaws open. I'm apparently still weak from that battle we had.

Oh. Ok, Jerkwad wasn't feeding me some weird thing. It was Pecha berries, obviously going to get rid of the poisoning. It doesn't get rid of my immobility, though.

"It would be troublesome if you passed out in the middle of it."

_Wait. Passed out? What the hell does he mean by 'passed out'?!_

I squinted my eyes to make out some details around me. My vision is blurry right now, but I still made out something. My heart nearly skipped a beat. My vision is clearing right now. My heart nearly skipped two beats.

There is a vine wrapped around my wrist! I looked at the other wrist; that's bounded, too. I noticed both of my arms _and _my legs were extended. I tried moving my legs. I can move them, unlike my paws, but I'm still restricted. It looks like all the vines were tied to a tree, my back being against it. The vines on my legs are tied to the tree's branches, lifting them up a little if I don't lift them up myself. To top it all off, Jerkwad is right in front of me.

"You can go ahead and scream if you want. Resisting, too. It's not like it's gonna make me go limp. And we're far away enough that no one will hear you. I knew of some incredibly strong vines around this area. You won't break out of them so easily. You wouldn't want to bite the vines, either. I used Toxic on them."

I sniffed those vines. Sure enough, I could smell the poison.

"Good news is the liquids from Toxic will wear the vines down. You'll be free sooner if there's enough wiggling around and that's why we're gonna have sex."

As soon as he said that, he stuck his clawed digits right in my hole! The hole with the currently-but-soon-not-going-to-be intact virginity! My legs instantly flexed. My brain and heart are in full alert and nervous beyond belief. Jerkwad is digging those digits in so roughly that it's threatening to make cuts in there.

Whatever face I was making, it was so _not_ a face of pleasure. I'm so tense that I'm not enjoying this and it was obvious enough for Jerkwad to notice.

"Man, dammit, you're not getting wet. Now I'll have to do this…"

Holy _shit_! Now he stuck his _tongue_ in there! It so as hell doesn't matter to me if my legs were restricted in movement. I needed to get him off of me! Ugh! I can't stretch my leg back far enough to give him a good kick in the belly. Not even his crotch, which I sooooo want to kick right now.

"Eeeeee," I said with a shiver. His tongue is just as rough as his claws were, but it's slimier and not so sharp. It's touching everywhere to boot. The lips, the clit, and the walls. Jerkwad is_ definitely_ touching the walls. There's no doubt that he's going to stick _that_ in.

I think it stretched to a minute or two. Then Jerkwad lifted his head up.

"You should be good enough now…" He then shoved it in with one quick move.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAUGH!"**_

Holy. Fucking. Shit. It hurts. So much. So very, very much. This hurts way more than the early days of training with Nana.

"Yeesh, I know I said you can scream but you're gonna wreck my ears."

"**YOU TRY BEING RAPED AND STILL SAY THAT!"**

"Ah, shut up," he said as he started to move. He did not start out slow whatsoever. Just thrusting in and out, in and out. At practically the speed of a lightning bolt hitting my insides every single second.

It was nothing but pained screams and grunts from me for a few minutes. Then finally the god dammed rapist came. Of course, it just had to be right inside me, too.

When he came, though, he grabbed my ear. Roughly. Almost like instinct again, I pulled back my leg with enough power to snap the vine off. Then I kicked him in his face like I did the Machamp from before. Cumming apparently puts others' guard down and I used so much power that he was _flying_ across the clearing.

I think I knocked him out. He didn't get up again, that's for sure. I checked on these vines; thank Arceus, they weakened from the Toxic combined with the rape. I snap them off with ease.

I feel annoyed, though, cause Jerkwad didn't grab my ear fluff like that until he came. I mean, couldn't he have done that earlier? I'm also annoyed at myself for letting this happen to me, even when I wasn't willing.

Well, no use for these feelings, I guess. What's been done has been done, I can't change it no matter how much I want to, I'll never see that guy ever again, and these feelings aren't getting me away from who I never want to see again.

My groin is hurting from the trip to hell it just took. I'm not letting that get in the way, though. I'll rest once I'm safe. Safe on a relative basis, anyways.

I get up, ignoring the pain as best as I could. I start walking away from here. I'm trying to go fast, but not trying to overexert myself either.

_The only good thing of all this… is that I'll never be abused again. I'll see to that personally. I was right, though. It was one hell of a night._


	3. Moving In

Surprise! I guess this like a reward or something for everyone who read this but waited so long for me to make new chapters. Now you can enjoy another chapter! Yay!

* * *

Chapter 3 – Moving In

"Umm! Huh?"

_What's this piercing my eye? Oh, that's just sunlight. Wait. SUNLIGHT?! Oh, shit, I gotta get up!_

I'm pretty much getting up now. I managed to find an empty, hallow tree to spend the rest of the night in. I made sure the tree would be facing the sunlight when the sun rises, of course. It's just that I would need all the time of the day I can get to invest in figuring out what to do now. As well as getting even further away from Jerkwad from last night.

Man, my crotch _still_ hurts like hell! Looks like I'll have to walk until – and hopefully if – I spot any danger. Obviously, I'll have to stay in the shadows of all these trees around, too. Thank Arceus I got a lot of foliage to hide in.

Right now I'm just walking in a straight line, not entirely sure what to do. I decided that, for now, I'll just look for a friendly face around here. I hope to find some food I can eat along the way, too. When I do find a friendly face, I'll ask them where am I and stuff like that. Then I can decide from there what direction to take.

I've been walking for a few minutes until I thought I heard something suspicious. Faint footsteps, I think. I stopped and tried listening more closely. I couldn't hear anything for a good while with the exception of the wind running through my fur.

I proceeded to continue in my search until I heard something for sure.

"Boo."

"AAAAHHH!" I yelled, jumping backwards almost three feet in the air. Then I landed on my rear, hurting it almost as much as my abused pussy does. Man, just how long will it hurt anyways? I don't like that the pain is taking its sweet time fading away either.

I looked up to see who I thought would never see again. Jerkwad. He's got a weird look on his face, too. It's as if he's in awe or something.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" I asked, getting up.

He shook himself out of it and answered, "Well, isn't that a nice response to give to someone? I came all this way just to find you. You walked a long way the whole time I was asleep."

"Why in the hell do I need you to find me? If I'm going to get help, it's not going to be from you."

"Ah, come oooon. Don't be like tha-Hey!"

I pretty much ran away. Well,_ tried_ to run away. I'm doing better compared to yesterday but I'm still not at full speed yet. Dam my pain to hell!

I was about to make a turn when Jerkwad stepped in front of me. I was afraid he'd be faster than me, mainly because _I'm_ the one who got hurt and not him.

I turned around and ran straight ahead. He stepped in front of me again.

"Leave me alone, Jerkwad!"

"I'm trying to be nice this time! Can ya stop running already?!"

"NO!"

This chase scene has going on for a little while longer, until I came across a beach. That was a weird place for a beach. I mean, I thought we were in a _forest_. Anyways, I looked behind me to see if Jerkwad was behind me.

"Oof!"

"Oof!"

I apparently bumped into someone else. I got up from where I landed and got a look at who I ran into. It was humanoid but a Pokémon. I saw white, blue, and green plus a fin on the head and a pair of red eyes. Seeing all of that, I knew who I was looking at.

"Sorry about that, Gallade."

"All is forgiven. My name is Lance, by th-"

"Hey! Get away from her!"

We turned our heads to see none other than Jerkwad heading towards us, more specifically me. Jerkwad caught up with me before I could run away again. He grabbed me by the shoulders, making me flinch a little, and pulled me away from Lance.

"Why were you talking to him? You coulda gotten hurt just talking to anybody you meet."

"As if _you_ wouldn't, Jerkwad? You beat him to it already!"

"My name's not Jerkwad! It's Zorroo! ZOR-ROO!"

"Fat good that does me, Jerkwad! And the hell is up with your attitude? I'm not yours!"

"Since when is it a fuckin' crime to be worried about someone else?!"

That was when Lance the Gallade highly likely has had enough and bonked him hard on the head. While he was still down, he came up to me.

"I see you have met and decided to not like young Zorroo. There is no need to worry, though. You were not the first and you will certainly not be the last."

"So, is he a resident of wherever this place is or something?"

"Yes, he is, unfortunately for the rest of us. His personality is horrible, just simply horrible. If you like, I can show you around my home town and perhaps even find you a place to stay, should you need it."

Instant smile right there. I responded immediately, "Yeah, that would be so totally cool of you to do so. Your name was Lance, right?"

He nodded and gestured to follow him. "Although, you still have yet to give me your name."

"Sorry, it's Ro."

"Ro? Please forgive me for saying this but that name sounds very peculiar to me."

"Oh, no, that's a nickname of my real name. My real name's Aurora. It's just not it's kinda tricky to pronounce right that I think even _I_ say it wrong. So I'm referred to as Ro."

"Well, I think that is a lovely name, Miss Aurora. Especially so when I know your full name."

"Really, you can just call me Ro. I'm used to that."

"That name's not so hot."

"YOU!" I yelled, stepping back. Since when did Jerkwad get up? "What are you still doing here? Leave!"

"Hey, I'm just sayin'. Ro doesn't sound like a good name cause it's just one letter change from ho."

"It's very doubtful you can say Aurora, you dam prick," I tell him, in a seriously dark tone.

Jerkwad totally drew back and even Lance recoiled a bit. Then he quickly turned around and checked the area for something. He must've found it because his face mildly lit up.

"Miss Aurora, we have arrived in my home town. I hope you will find it pleasant."

_As pleasant as I can when I'm right next to Jerkwad_

Still, I stepped ahead of Lance between some trees and looked around. In awe. It wasn't just pleasant; it was so beautiful in a kind of weird way. There were houses made of either wood like huts on an island or stones arranged like bricks. All the houses had leafy roofs like what anyone would expect except the leaves seemed to be tree branches with the leaves still attached rather than palm tree leaves anyone would expect. As for the stone houses, it looked like they being held together with cement. That's a question I will have to ask later, though. I mean, where can you find cement on an island? Anyways, it also looks like I'm looking at a cul-de-sac. The buildings of natural materials were shaped in a near-complete circle, including some outside of it, facing each other as if separated by a street or something. Basically, it's like the outline of a lever. All these houses looked expertly built and they even had fences around each one of them. The sight of wooden houses and stone houses together in an unexpected location may have looked strange but it still looked appealing all the same. It's a sight to behold, that's for sure.

I realized another good thing from looking at all this: more island residents to interact with! I turned to Lance, feeling happy and highly likely having the face to match.

"It looks so peaceful and pretty in a peculiar kind of way but I love it! I might stay here if I end up needing a place?"

"Wait, staying here? You're gonna live here?" Jerkwad asked me.

"What does it mean to you, Jerkwad? Don't you realize I wanna be rid of you?"

"What it means to me is whether or not you'll live close to where I am," he answered, gritting his teeth this time.

My eyes bulged wide as I asked, "Jerkwad say what?" Lance coughed a bit and then spoke up.

"You see, young Zorroo also lives in the same town as I do. Although you knew he is a resident of this place, you did not think he lives nearby, I presume."

Shit, I really didn't think that. Now I'm hoping I find somewhere else to stay.

"Now then, Miss Aurora," Lance continued, "let me tell you more about the town."

I followed him as he led me towards the cul-de-sac. Jerkwad, of course, was right behind me. We stopped right in front of the big clearing surrounded by houses.

"This town is called Heartsdale. It might be accurate, however, to call it a village or something else similar because there are nine houses in total. Six of them are inhabited, young Zorroo and myself included."

He turned around and pointed to something. I turned around to see a house in a corner of the little community.

"That house is house 1. The one next to it is house 2 and the one next to it is house 3. It continues in that pattern until, finally, it ends at the house in the opposite corner of the first house. That house is house 9, of course. I am aware that some of the dwellings are made with wood and others are made with stone. This place being an island, we made use of the driftwood that come by from time to time. In addition, this island is covered almost entirely by a forest, providing us with more material for the wooden dwellings. Over time, we gathered stones and boulders to create houses and we use a special plant to stick them permanently together. We will get to that topic later, if you wish. Finally, welcome to Victory Island."

"Victory Island? That's what this place is?"

"Correct. There is a little story behind that name but I think we will go over that later. Perhaps you can even talk about it with the neighbors."

"So, who would the neighbors be?"

"You would probably think they're annoying."

"Can you _shut up_?" Jerkwad has been making listening to Lance hard since he's been giving obvious signs that he's bored. Why won't he just leave if he's that bored? I turned back to Lance. "Well?"

"The neighbors are four families and 2 single Pokémon living alone. I live in one of the four families. Young Zorroo lives alone."

"I'm not surprised to hear that. Look, as much as I would like to meet the neighbors, I wanna rest right now. You mind if I do so at your house?"

"Even if you wanted to meet them, they are all either busy indoors or elsewhere. You will be able to meet them tomorrow. As for whether or not you can stay in my home, I do not mind but my father might. He is a little hesitant about strangers, even if there is no need to be that worried. Besides, I think it would be a better idea if you stayed in one of the vacant houses. This is an island, after all, and you will find difficulties getting off of one. It is obvious that it will take you more than one day to leave an island."

"Isn't there another town I can get to or something? Just checking." I am, after all, not eager to stay in the same neighborhood as Jerkwad. Even when we're surrounded by others this time, he still might sneak in the house to rape me again. I'm not sure about leaving the island, too. If I do, then I'll have Tristan and his Pokémon to worry about.

"There is but it is several miles from here. What is more is there are patrollers on the edges of those towns who will stop you and ask you questions. There would not be anything you have done wrong but they will like information about you before you move in. It would take nearly all day and it is already afternoon."

Man, really? Well, I guess they're just doing their jobs. After everything I've been through, though, I could really use a rest for now before I go on my way again. I just gotta hope I get lucky and remain untouched by a certain jerkwad tonight.

"Ok. I'll rest in one of the houses just for tonight. I'm not sure about staying at one of the neighbors' houses and I don't think I can stay at your place. So tell me more about the houses I can pick from."

"House 1 is a ground stone house, and has 2 bedrooms and a living room. House 7 is a 2-story wooden house and has 2 bedrooms upstairs and a living room downstairs. Finally, house 8 is a ground wooden house and has 2 bedrooms and a living room. For restrooms, we just 'go' out in nature. Everyone thought it would be better than outhouses. For kitchens, we do not have that many tools for preparing food so they were not included in any of the houses. All the houses, however, do have a basement for storage as well as emergencies. Lastly, the living rooms double as dining rooms."

I stared at him. Then I spoke, "Wow, whatever I was expecting, it wasn't that. It sounds so modern for an island's civilization, too."

He smiled. "We are indeed more advanced than you would expect of an island. We also go to other lands to get supplies and such. Now which house would you like?"

"I just need to know one thing: where does Jerkwad here live?"

"What do you mean you need to know that?"

"It is house 9."

"Then house 7. Out of all the available houses, it's the farthest one from him."

"Hey!"

"Miss Aurora, is that really necessary?"

"Yeah, it is." As nice as Lance is, I'm not sure about telling him about what happened. Especially in front of the rapist himself.

"Well, I will not pry into that but I must give you a warning. Everyone knows everything about everyone else in Heartsdale, at the very least. I do not know about everywhere else. If there is a personal reason behind your disliking of young Zorroo, then it has a chance of being found out and then spread. In Heartsdale, there is usually not that many things more exciting than gossip. Additionally, we are basically one big family. That is how a family is to begin with, knowing many things about one another."

That didn't make me feel good. I better leave to another town first thing tomorrow. Actually, after breakfast. No sense in leaving on an empty stomach.

"I have to get back to my home to take care of some things. I was just outside for a walk and some fresh air, anyways. I will be able to come by later to get you some food for tonight. There is a pile of leaves you can use a bed; we leave that in all the vacant houses in case of new neighbors moving in with no proper preparation. You enjoy your stay at house 7!" he told me as he walked off and waved bye.

I waved bye back to him and started walking in generally Lance's direction, but to the house next to his. I know now that he lives in house 6. As I walked, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Hey, instead of getting food from formal boy, how about eating out tonight with me?"

"No."

"In the morning?"

"No."

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"_NO!_ I'LL BE LEAVING TOMORROW, ANYWAYS. DID YOU FORGET?!" I finally reached the front door. I pushed open the door and turned around in the doorway. "You are an _asshole_ and your change of attitude is pissing me off! I don't want to spend any more time with you than I already have!"

Then I slammed the door in his face. I heard some distinct cursing outside. Then I heard him yell and being chased away by someone. It's got to be someone complaining about the choice of words Jerkwad used.

This is going to be one hell of a stay. Or just hell as long as I stay in Heartsdale, the place where Jerkwad lives. I mean, he friggin' raped me for crying out loud! I know it would help me if I told someone but Nana was the only piece of family I've ever known and she's gone now. I'm not about to tell Lance and the other neighbors about it, either. I'm just not sure about talking about that horrible event with total strangers. I'm curious on one thing, though. Was that the first time he's done something like that? He wouldn't be able to stay here if he's gotten_ that_ bad, right? On the bright side, though, I only have to stay here until tomorrow morning, likely after breakfast. Hopefully Jerkwad won't be able follow me all over the island.

I also hope that he'll be the only rapist I ever come across or, at least, the only rapist to actually _succeed_ in violating me.


	4. Meeting the Neighbors

Chapter 4 – Meeting the Neighbors

"Ah! I'm up! I'm up!"

I was getting up to greet the new day. That and someone was actually singing outside! It's gonna wake up the whole neighborhood! Whoever was singing is off-key, too. I ran to the window, still covering my big, fluffy ears to shield them from the noise. I looked out of it and saw a Ledian singing through a megaphone. Wow, that would be another sight to behold on Victory Island.

The Five Star Pokémon with the one star voice eventually stopped whatever song was being sung. Ugh, it was so bad that I couldn't pick up any words from it. Anyways, now that the song is over, I can ask what the heck was going on.

"Hey! Ledian!"

The Ledian turned to my direction and flew over.

"Hi! My name's Lillian!"

"Call me Ro. And what are you doing, singing in the morning right in the middle of the neighborhood?"

"Well, that's my job!"

"Say what?"

"Yeah, we don't have these things called 'clocks' or 'electricity' but we need to get up early somehow! To get ready for the day! It doesn't matter if it's goofing off or working. We still need to get up in the morning! Lots of Ledian on the island go to all the towns and wake them up! I got an extra job, too! I'm supposed to get important information on anyone new who moves to Victory Island. Ah, how nice it is seeing a new face in the crowd! So your name's Ro? I need exact details."

"Then my name's Aurora. I prefer Ro, though."

"What Pokémon and Pokémon type are you?"

"Lopunny, a normal-type."

"Have any family with you?"

"Nope. I'm by myself."

"Native or not?

"Not."

"Cool! See you later!"

"WAIT!" Lillian stopped before getting too far. "Wouldn't this take nearly all day? The questioning, I mean."

"No, the absolutely necessary questioning takes only a minute or less. It's the moving in questioning that takes almost all day. The patrollers of other towns don't have that much to do, what with Victory Island having a very low crime rate. Crime is almost non-existent here! For reals! So those patrollers will take almost allll day, asking you tons of questions to suit your needs and wants of a house you might move into. You managed to stay in one of the empty houses of Heartsdale because the only patroller in town already checked you out before letting you move in. I just know it! I asked you the absolutely necessary questions already and I have to be on my merry way. So, toddle-loo!"

Well, I sure can't believe it. Lance told me there was going to be questioning even when I likely haven't done anything wrong. I have a feeling that this was what he meant. At least I have a better idea of what to expect when I get to another town. As much as I don't like the idea of bored patrollers asking me questions about which houses I like, I don't like being near a certain neighbor even more. Lillian's wake-up-the-neighborhood job isn't something I'm looking forward to, either.

"Hey! Aurora!"

Ugh. If there's no 'Miss' in front of it, then I know it's not Lance. I look down. Yep, I was right. I saw Jerkwad. Thank Arceus he didn't try anything last night and stayed in his house, but now he's going to bug me in the morning.

"What the hell do you want now?"

"I just want to say 'Good morning' to ya! That's not a crime!"

"If you don't leave right now, I'm gonna _make_ it a crime."

"You're so uptight!"

"No, that's being reasonable and cautious!" I made a Shadow Ball and fired it at Jerkwad. He sidestepped quickly to the left.

"I don't need that so early in the morning!"

"I don't need this so early in the morning, too, but you're still here! Now go away!" I stepped aside from the window. Out of the corner of my eye, Jerkwad was getting ready for a snappy comeback until he noticed something. I wonder if whatever he noticed is going to affect me. Oh well, I'm not going to think any longer on that.

What I am going to think about is the fact this house is so expertly built. I mean, it looked that way on the outside but it shows even more on the inside. The room is so round in its shape and there is an actual wooden staircase leading to the second floor. It's so sturdy and it splits into two so there wouldn't be any need to go through one room to get to another. There was a bunch of leaves in one of the bedrooms like Lance said. Both bedrooms, actually. There was even a door in between rooms, not just the ones on the floor and above the stairs. They must be getting some excellent materials to create such solidly-built buildings. Other than the makeshift beds, though, the house I spent the night in is completely bare. If I was going to live here – which I'm not – then I wonder what I could do to liven the place up.

I know Lance would help if I asked. He was so nice yesterday; he even got food for me last night like he said he would. Now I think about it, he asked me the exact same questions Lillian asked me when he handed me the food. Huh. I wonder if I should be concerned over that. Well, I'm gonna have to depend on his kindness one more time and hope he has directions to the nearest town.

Then I heard a knock on the door. I came downstairs but I wasn't sure if I should answer that. It could be Jerkwad, the guy who doesn't know when to fuck off when I tell him to. Then I heard something from the other side of the front door.

"Miss Aurora! It is I, Lance! I have something of interest to show you!"

Now that I know it's safe enough, I go up to the door and open it. When I _did_ open it, though, I was given one hell of a surprise.

"WELCOME TO HEARTSDALE, NEW NEIGHBOR!" I saw faces of Pokémon I know about, like an Alakazam and a Kirlia. On the downside, I saw some completely new faces like a muscular Pokémon holding onto 2 huge concrete pillars and a Pokémon resembling greatly of a golden coffin from ancient Egyptian times. Actually, the only Pokémon I can recognize are Lance, the Alakazam, the Kirlia, and an Abra I just noticed. The rest I don't know. Lance came up to me.

"Forgive me once again, please. The neighbors heard young Zorroo make a commotion in front of this house yesterday as well as the one just recently. I tried to explain the situation but everyone in Heartsdale thought you were a new neighbor moving in."

Oh, great. Now I'm gonna have to tell everyone I'm not really going to stay here in Heartsdale. I gently pushed Lance aside and stepped forward. I stuck my paw out to silence the crowd. That might have been a mistake cause that muscular Pokémon with the concrete pillars let go of one of them and grabbed my paw. It obviously didn't hurt me, but yeesh! This is one strong handshake! Strong enough to surprise me! I was even more surprised when I heard the Pokémon pawshaking me talk.

"Hi there! My name's Connie and I'm a Conkeldurr. My dear old daddy, Don, is a Conkeldurr, too! This is my mate, Kaz the Alakazam. And these are our kids! The oldest is Darwin, our handsome little Gurdurr! Then there's our precious, little daughter, Abigail. She's the Abra in the family. Finally, our cute, little baby Timburr, Timothy!"

Upon seeing the Conkeldurr for the first time, I would've thought they were a male-only species kind of Pokémon. The embarrassed Darwin must be the smaller but still muscular-looking Pokémon holding a red metal thing someone might find on a construction site. I already know of the Abra so that means the Timburr must be the small Pokémon holding a squared log. Timmy and his log is being held by an older-looking Conkeldurr. That must be Don. Connie finally let go of my paw and Kaz took his turn to shake it. Well, he did when he eventually managed to grab it. My arm was still going up and down long after Connie let go.

Then a yellow, leaf-wrapped Pokémon about the same height as me came up to me and gave me a pawshake. It was much milder and not as powerful this time. I noticed this Pokémon has leaf-like hands or something.

"Hello, my name is Ivana and I'm a Leavanny. I'm a proud mother of two sweet boys. Here is my eldest son, Nolan. He's a Swadloon. This little one here is my youngest son, Wallace. He's a Sewaddle."

Oh, now I notice her arms wrapped around the baby. Wally looks covered in leaves just like his mother does. Nolan, too. They both have chubby, yellow faces, kind of like their mother.

I looked to my left and saw yet another completely new Pokémon coming up to me. I thought of a fiery pig or something; that Pokémon was big and tall, too. The fiery pig also looked kind of muscular and had a beard of flames.

Another pawshake, another introduction. "I'm Omar. I'm an independent Emboar living on his own." Wow, that one was rather short.

Anyways, I noticed someone else coming towards me to my right. It was Lance! He took my paw for another shake.

"I know we've met each other yesterday but I thought I might as well. Everyone else has done it. I have to introduce you to my family, too. This is my niece Karla," he said, pointing to the Kirlia. Then he pointed to the Pokémon resembling a golden coffin, "and this is my father, Gus the Cofagrigus."

Gus the Cofagrigus suddenly grabbed my paw and shook it like Connie did! I thought she was the only one with a shaking shake!

"It is so nice to meet you! It really is!" Man, I didn't notice before he has two pairs of hands. They look kind of shadowy. "I heard so much about you from my Lance! Actually, it wasn't a lot because the two of you met only yesterday. But! But I heard enough from him to know there might be something going on, if you catch my drift. You can start calling me Daddy if you want!"

He's starting to freak me out now. How in the world does someone like Lance turn out the way he is with a dad like this, anyway?

"Father! Those kind of statements will scare others away!" Lance told his dad as he tried to make him let go of my paws. It took a few minutes and Lance had to talk to his father about his behavior. That looked weird. While they were doing that, I was talking to the two moms.

"This is the first time I've come across so many Pokémon with personal names."

"Oh, all the Pokémon who live here on Victory Island have those kind of names," answered Ivana. "It's actually necessary. Otherwise, we wouldn't have them. On the bright side, we feel pride in a name of our very own."

"Cool. So how's life on Victory Island for you?"

"Oh, it's fantastic!" answered Connie. "You'll have fun shopping, playing at that beach nearby, and even working!"

"And spending the days with your destined one!" injected Ivana. She had watery-happy eyes and they are pointed at me.

"What makes you so certain _that's_ gonna happen?"

Ivana then asked me, "Oh! You never been to Victory Island before? Today is your first day ever setting foot on this island?"

"Actually, a couple of nights ago. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Because now," Ivana explained now excitedly, "you have to know the story of Victory Island and the meaning of its name!"

"Oh, yeah. Lance said he would tell me about that later when I have more time or I could even hear it from one of the neighbors. I guess I can listen to it while I eat."

Connie took my paw but, this time, to drag me over to the clearing surrounded by houses rather than shaking it.

"Well, then, come over here!" she said as she pulled me. "We already have the food! Come, eat! Eat!"

Holy-! How in the world did I _not _notice a whole heaping pile of food? They must've took some time yesterday to get all of this.

I was gestured to sit so I did. Lance was done lecturing his dad about his behavior and they both joined everyone else. Gus sat on the farthest side of me, though. I saw so many berries laid out in front of me. There were berries of all flavors! There were spicy, bitter, sweet, and sour. There were different kinds of fruits, too.

I took a leaf and put on it some apples, oranges, and all kinds of sweet tasting berries. Ivana and Wally was a little irritated that I took a lot of those. What can I say? I _reeeally_ like sweets. Anyways, after giving them more of my berries, I was listening to Ivana and Connie telling me more of the island's story.

"Victory Island got its name because of a Pokémon called Victini, having been said to be a female. Victini was said to have been very lonely her entire life because everyone wanted her only because of the guaranteed victory she'd bring them. She always spent her time getting away from them."

"When she died," Connie continued the story, "Arceus pitied her and reincarnated her. She came back as this island. Her power to guarantee victory remains but it's directed to something in particular. The love lives of anyone who lives on the island."

"So you're saying Victini subconsciously remembers loneliness and it affects others' love lives?" I asked. This is a quite the tall tale they're telling me.

"Well, actually, Victini's spirit has become one with Victory Island so she consciously remembers. Still, you pretty much understood. Your reaction seems a little indifferent by the way."

"That would be because I don't believe it. Sorry."

"Oh, that's what all the new ones who move here say," countered Connie. "Then something happens to make them say otherwise. Isn't that right, Kaz?"

"She's right, you know. There isn't even _one_ habitant of Victory Island who has been without a loved one their entire lives, no matter how old or how young they are. It will only be a matter of time before it happens to you."

All of the adults around me were nodding like it's a universal fact. It seems like they taught that to the kids cause they were nodding, too. Speaking of the kids, one of them, Karla, trotted around the food and over to me.

"It will be so much fun when the spirits are the air," she said, "or so I'm told."

"Spirits in the air?"

"Yeah, spirits! You remember when Ivana said Victini's spirit became one with the island? It's not just hers. There are some who have lived here and died and still would've wanted to make sure their family and friends are happy. Everyone else, too! So they become spirits and stay here and work together with Victini to make happy, happy couples!" Her eyes are even more watery-happy eyes than Ivana from before and they're also pointed at me.

"Spirits do the matchmaking here?" This is an even taller tall tale they're telling me.

"Yes, they do, big ears! You better believe it!" Don pretty much yelled at me. What kind of problem would someone have with my ears?

"Oh, dad! Calm down, would you? Little Timmy must be making you a little stressed again. Here, give him to me."

I felt a tap on my shoulder so I turned my head. I saw Karla.

"You must be really fun to be around with. Or at least granddaddy thinks so."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Granddaddy may be a little too much sometimes but he means well. Lance thinks you're fun, too!"

"Oh, thanks."

"It'll be good for him, too. Him patrolling all by himself in Heartsdale makes him too stressed."

"Karla!" Lance told her. "That sounds like something we don't tell new folks."

"She's going to find that out anyways while she's staying here," said Connie.

Gus patted him on the head and I guess defending him. "Lance is taking his work seriously! He's the only one of his job in town!"

"Thank you, Father. Now will you please stop petting my head?"

"Oh, wait. I think you got a smudge on your cheek." He actually passed one of his fingers against his tongue and was going to wipe the smudge off of Lance's cheek. That's typically something a mother would do. Ah, man, where _is_ his mom? I got a bad feeling about that.

Lance, of course, looked like he didn't want his dad to do that. While he tried to keep his dad's four hands at bay, everyone was laughing at the sight. It does look funny when it's not me who's going to have a smudge wiped off by my dad.

I am surprised at one thing, though. _Lance_ is the only patroller in Heartsdale I've heard about? Now that explains the questioning yesterday. I also feel a bit like an idiot.

I felt a tap on my other shoulder. I turned my head and saw Connie.

"I wanted to ask this since I knew you were here. You might need a job eventually, right? You look about old enough."

"19 years. But-"

"Oh, good! Ivana and I could use some help around here!"

"The thing is, Connie, tha-"

"The work won't be that difficult. It would just be doing odd jobs around the place."

"But Connie-"

"Now, as for pay-"

"CONNIE! I'M NOT PLANNING TO STAY IN HEARTSDALE!"

Everyone fell _silent_. Even a certain chatty coffin. Then everyone – except for Lance, that is – was in a loud, questioning frenzy.


	5. Pesticide Path

Chapter 5 – Pesticide Path

Man, I knew they wouldn't like it when I told them I'm gonna leave. It's one question after another. My ears are starting to hurt from its very volume. The questions are coming all at once and becoming all scrambled with each other so I could only hear some things in the crowd.

"Why? Why are you going to move!?"

"Why don't you like this place!?"

"Don't you want to be part of the family!?"

"Don't you want to date my son!?"

"FATHER!"

Ok, that's enough. Maybe I panicked. Maybe I was hurting from the volume; super-hearing can turn on someone, after all. Either way, I managed to silence everybody.

"**EVERYONE, QUIET!**" Ok, I have silence now. "Let me explain. It's not that something's wrong with this town. I just made plans before to move into another town!"

"So you were just going to take our food and leave!?" Don confronted me.

"I wasn't expecting all of you to get all the food! And you guys invited me to! HEY!" The old man clubbed me on the head. I didn't feel much of anything, of course.

"Dad! Stop that right now!" Connie said as she and Kaz held him back. She then turned to me, still keeping her dad back. "Sorry about that, dear, but are you sure you want to go? We can have lots of fun together in Heartsdale."

I looked at everyone; they all looked bummed out. Even the ones I'm yet to make conversation with. Still, it doesn't change what I planned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I have plans for myself and I'm not about to change it now."

"All right, then, everyone," Lance said to the crowd, getting between them and me. "All of you know we cannot make her stay here if she does not want to. Besides, even if you wanted a welcome party, you will be quick to change this into a farewell party whether I have said it or not."

"That's a good idea, son! We will host a farewell party for her then! We will, with high hopes, meet again."

"You're right. We will make this a happy time, even if it's saying good-bye. So let's eat everyone!" Ivana urged them.

Everyone cheered. Are they serious?

Lance leaned in slightly closer to me and whispered, "You do remember me saying they would have had a party no matter what, Miss Aurora? I am aware I brought it up but it would have still turned out this way even if I had not. I just know it. It is rather a bit sad you will depart from Heartsdale. You would have been treated as part of the family and certainly have become it. I know we have a member of said family that you might call a black Mareep but he is not so bad that we have to kick him out. In the meantime, please enjoy your time here before you have to go. I need to make sure Karla does not eat too many Mago berries."

I would call Jerkwad a black Mareep, all right. That night was likely the first time he raped somebody. It just _haaaaad_ to be me, though. Speaking of Jerkwad, I haven't seen him the entire time when I was being greeted, welcomed, and later good-byed. I guess since the member of the family Lance was talking about is Jerkwad, then I guess he's not very welcomed in things like this. At least I'll get to enjoy some time for me before I have to deal with any more headaches.

Man, the family of Heartsdale can sure pack it away. They still ate after eating breakfast even it wasn't as much. I tried talking to Darwin and Nolan who would be about teenage. I guess things like this just aren't their interest. Then I tried making cotchie-cotchie-coos at the babies. That turned out to be a mistake cause they grabbed my ear fluff like the many times from before lately. I knew I couldn't kick the babies; only a sicko would do that. So I ended up kicking Kaz. Twice. I had to explain to them that a Lopunny does that when their ear fluff is harshly grabbed. I also had to tell them it was pure coincidence I kicked Kaz twice. Connie and I made sure the babies stayed away from me and my ear fluff. Kaz made sure to stay from me period. Don tried to make sure Kaz was near me if something violently touches my ear fluff again. That's apparently changed Don's opinion of me.

When we were all finished eating, it was time for me to go. Ivana and Connie saw to it that I packed some food for lunch later; I tucked it in my ear fluff. It should be fine since it's entirely berries and fruits. I talked with Lance and he gave me directions to Spare Town. I just pretty much walk south in a certain direction. Connie started to hug me and didn't let go on her own. Kaz and Don had to pry her off of me. I could've done it myself but I probably would've hurt her. I gotten another hug from Ivana but I was able to get out on my own unlike Connie's hug. Finally, everyone all waved good-bye to me. I waved back as I walked.

I was feeling pretty good as I left Heartsdale. I met so many friendly faces, I'm away from Tristan, and the pain from a couple nights ago is finally gone.

Then I stopped, with shivers running down my spine. I saw the source of that pain right in front of me. Jerkwad.

"If you want to go back to your house in Heartsdale, then you can now. The party for me is over."

"I'm not going back."

"Why the hell not?" I got a bad feeling about this…

"Because I'm going with you."

I backed away. "WHY!?"

"Because I want to. I could be great to hang out with if you change that personality that seems to pop out only with me."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that _never_. Stay away from me."

"Sorry, princess. I'm sticking to you like a Shellder to a Slowpoke."

"Don't call me princess! Call me Ro!"

"Don't wanna."

Augh. This guy seriously pisses me off! My preferred name is wearing off its use, too. Luckily, I got one last idea I can try to ditch this dick for good.

I ran straight ahead and then made a sharp turn to the left. Now that the pain is gone, I can run as fast as I used to now. But I can hear rapid footsteps behind me. It's maybe because I'm smaller and probably lighter than Jerkwad that I can run faster. He's still remarkably speedy, though.

I run down the path when I turned left. I see a big, old pile of thorny vines, just like what Lance said. He told me to not take the path on the left because it's rough terrain. After the vines with the natural spikes, there should be unstable ground and a raging river. Hopefully I can use Bounce when I get to the river. Just like I'm gonna use Bounce for the pile of prickly vines.

"Bounce!" I leaped over it with ease. As much as I would like to see Jerkwad get through that, or even bother, I can't.

I was getting on my way until I heard a bunch of ow's behind me. I turn around. I see a tiny tunnel in the pile of thorny vines! He's actually getting through all that. Man, I gotta get moving.

I kept running until the ground all of a sudden gave way under me. The hole wasn't very deep and I wasn't hurt. That means one thing, though. I have to careful until I get to the river Lance told me about. That is, if I can still hurry along and stay ahead of Jerkwad.

I think I can use the foliage to hide myself and make him think I actually took this pathway of pitfalls. I look around me real quick; I don't see him anywhere. I go straight to the foliage and make a sprint. Then I slowed down enough to not make noise as I continued onwards.

It was like this for a while until I heard even more ow's in the distance. Oh my Arceus. He managed to get through all those thorns and is _still_ following me! I better pick up the pace, but still not make noise to give myself away.

This went on for a few minutes until I heard something to make me jump like yesterday morning.

"If this didn't work the first time, it's not gonna work a second time."

As I have said before, I jumped like I did yesterday morning. This time, I landed on unstable ground and fell deeper into the dirt. Just like the first hole, I didn't fall too far and I wasn't hurt. I'm just fucking irritated now. Jerkwad offered me his paw but I would have to be in hell to take it. I got up myself and brushed off some dirt.

"Just so you know, I'm a dark-type. Hiding in the shadows is not going to do you any good."

Well, that explains it. I dash off all the same. Prepared for the ground giving way, I ran fast enough for the land below me to barely register that I'm even there. Jerkwad, on the other hand, doesn't sound like he's doing so hot.

"Is running – ow! – away from – ah! – me a hobby – augh! – of yours or – gah! – something?!"

"Is chasing me a hobby of _yours_ or something?!"

I began to hear something like a waterfall. Or a raging river. Sure enough, I saw the river in front of me as I closed the distance.

"Bounce!" I crossed that_ easily_. Let's see how Jerkwad is gonna cross _that_. I know it's not going to be an easy one, judging by the look on his face. I think he'll finally give up and go back to Heartsdale this time. Now all I need to do now is to keep moving forward.

"Aurora! Wait!"

As if. I keep on walking until I couldn't hear his protests anymore. I also kept walking until I noticed the path curved to the right. As I got closer, I saw a little, wooden hut on the side of the path. Oh, yeah. Now I remember Lance said that, even if he said it was a rumor, someone was living on this path. I guess that's true. Especially when I saw someone looking through the window. Even more especially when they came out of the house.

I saw a Torkoal who looks about middle-aged coming straight towards me. My sensitive nose told me he's been stuffing himself silly in something. It smells like marijuana.

"Hello theeeere," he mumbled. "Waz a pretty gal like yaself doing here?"

I decided to keep going; I got a feeling I won't like it if I just stay here.

"Hey! I waz talkin' to you!"

I continue ignoring and walking away.

"Get back he-re!"

Still ignoring and walking away. Doing the second thing faster cause I hear him getting closer.

"FLAMETHOWWAH!" The word was mixed but it was enough for the attack in mind. I dodged that move.

"BAH-DY SLAM!"

I didn't dodge that one. I would've avoided that as easily as the flamethrower recently. It's just that… I saw something. A half-hard cock. Now I'm pinned under this hot Coal Pokemon.

"That waznet very nice, lea-ving me behind. Speking of behind, why don't I take yours?"

I saw him aligning his cock to my hole. Then vivid memories flashed in my head. Memories of that night when I lost my virginity. I remember the claws in me, the tongue in me, the _cock_ in me. I got so caught up in my emotional scars that it took a while to remember the situation I'm in. I looked down; the head of the cock is already in.

I quickly and suddenly get up from the Torkoal supposedly pinning me down. He's obviously surprised. I pulled back my arm to prepare a punch.

"DRAIN PUNCH!" I clocked him in his face and sent him miles away from me.

As he lied unconscious on the ground, there was a strange sound. Like someone had a slight limp. I didn't want to look but I knew I had to in case it was someone like the Torkoal just now. I saw Jerkwad yet again.

I am burning with absolute fury. Now I have another reason to hate him. He gave me a phobia of sex! After experiencing this event, I just have this feeling that whenever someone even suggests to me the idea of having sex, my head will automatically go over the memories of _that_ night. It's understandable, yeah, that it would be a while before I have sex with someone again because my first time was rape. I didn't think, though, that I'd have a phobia of the activity.

I felt too tired from everything today. Everything from encountering the pervert and reliving the memories to Nana being gone. I tried to handle things without her; I know I have to. It's just hard doing it all by myself. I curled up into a ball, hugged my legs, and lied down on my side.

Jerkwad walked – or should I say limped – to my side. He sat down cross-legged and then raised up his arm.

"Don't-"

"Relax, Aurora, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just giving you back something in my mane that I believe belongs to you," he said as he reached his paw into his mane. He pulled his paw back out, holding something round and familiar.

My pokeball! I thought it was still in my ear fluff when I checked last night but I didn't know it wiggled out. It was likely from the path I took today, what with the hazards. I grabbed it like I was gonna die if I didn't hold it.

"I guess that thing is important to you," Jerkwad declared.

"You have no idea," I replied. "Where'd you see it when you picked it up?"

"That would be my side of the river when you tried to ditch me. Consider it my welcome gift to you, even if you weren't going to stay in Heartsdale."

"You weren't hoping for sex in exchange? Not like I was doing to, though."

"I'm planning to stick to you like a Shellder to a Slowpoke, remember? I have plenty of time for that. But what did that Torkoal do to you to make you punch him like that?"

"He… almost raped me." As much as I didn't want to answer, I guess I owed him an answer to a question since he gave me back the only piece of Nana I have left. I friggin' hate myself for having lost it.

"What?!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed. Then his eyes narrowed. "That guy doesn't deserve our pity, even if he did lose his mate."

"His mate? He had one?"

"Yeah. We weren't close but I knew he had someone. I think it was a lady Grotle. She died almost a week ago and it looks like he's still trying to get over it. But he doesn't deserve our pity so let's just get away from here before he comes back."

Dammit, he's right. I can just punch the Torkoal easily every time but that doesn't mean that I should or that I want to. On shaky arms and legs, I get up on my knees. Although I'm not physically hurt, the inside of me is struggling. I'm gonna need some support for standing up. The moment I realized that was when I felt something tap my arm.

I looked in direction to the tap. Jerkwad was standing in front of me with a long stick in his paw. I wondered why he has it.

"What's that for?"

"Because you don't look like you can get up without falling down unless you had help. That's what the stick is for, Queen of the Clueless."

I take the stick. "Thanks, King of Sucking Cocks." He bit his maw for that one. I thought it was going to bleed.

Jerkwad picked a long and strong stick so I was able to use it like a cane. While Jerkwad tried to keep himself quiet, he followed me as I got away from here.

We continued on the path that Lance had in mind when he was giving me directions. A few minutes later, Jerkwad broke the silence.

"Hey, how about we stop and eat? I know a clearing with rocks nearby. It might be the only time we'll have to eat today if you're set on going to Spare Town."

"No way. How do I know you don't want to have sex there?"

"I would have done that when you were still a curled-up ball. Now come on."

He grabbed my arm and dragged me over to, for all I know, the clearing he was talking about. I tried to squirm myself free, but no use. Jerkwad had an iron grip. I have to admit on one thing, though. He's right; he could have raped me again when I was still emotionally vulnerable. But he didn't. He got me the stick for me to stand instead.

We reached the clearing Jerkwad was talking about. It looked rather nice. It had smooth-looking rocks grouped next to each other, there was a pleasant stream in front of it, and there were colorful patches of flowers on green grass scattered about.

Jerkwad led me over to the rocks and made me sit down on it.

"The last I checked, you stashed your food in one of those fluffy ears of yours. You go ahead and start eating. I remember some apple trees not far from here. I'll just munch on those."

And off he went. This is so weird! This is a totally different attitude from a couple of nights ago! He and I still fight with each other but he's being nicer.

I sighed. Maybe some food will calm me down. Jerkwad has made it clear to me that I can't shake him off, no matter how hard I try. So I go through my ear fluff to find the food I put away. Then I felt my pokeball. I took it out and looked at it. It looked like it hasn't been through what I have. Running away from Tristan, the first fight I had with Jerkwad, the rape, and the path I took today as a last attempt to shake him off. It doesn't even one scratch. I can't believe he gave it back to me. Now that I think about it, he could have threatened me with this pokeball to make me more obedient to him. At least, that's what I think. It's almost like the things I care about are things he cares about, too.

I shake my head. Man, those were crazy ideas I put in my head. I still can't let slide what he did to me a couple nights ago. I go through my ear fluff again to find my food. I managed to do so just when Jerkwad came back with his arms almost overflowing with apples. He set them down next to my feet. Then he sat down cross-legged once more.

I enjoyed the scenery around me while I ate. _Tried_ to. It was hard to enjoy the scenery when Jerkwad was apparently enjoying _me_. He just will not stop staring at me. I didn't want to talk with him, despite how he's been treating me today.

Just as I was about to lose it, I heard someone behind us yell.

"Miss Aurora!"

That was a surprise. I swiveled my head. I saw Lance, just like I knew I would. I heard a faint growl next to me. What's Jerkwad's problem, anyways? I don't see how Lance is unlikable. Jerkwad is unlikable.

I got up, placing the stick next to the rocks. I got up and I find that I no longer needed the stick. I lightly ran up to Lance because I'm happy to see him again and I have dealt with a black, furry headache since I left.

I was next to Lance but Jerkwad kept trying to get between us, his limp have seemingly gotten better.

I asked Lance, "Hi, Lance! What are you doing here? It's quite some way from Heartsdale to here."

"Yes, I know. It is just that I wanted to check on you to see if you have made it to Spare Town safely. It seems to me that you are doing fine."

"Yeah, she's fine. Aren't you the only patroller in town? Can you really leave Heartsdale unprotected?"

Lance looks a little astonished by that. I don't blame him. What with the way Jerkwad has been behaving lately, you'd think he's been using Astonish all day today.

Lance recomposed himself and answered Jerkwad. "Omar is some distance behind me, about halfway between Heartsdale and me. If there is trouble at the town, then someone there will find Omar along the path. Finally, Omar will fetch me. I simply have thought it necessary to check on Miss Aurora."

"Like I said, she's fine. She's with me. Now go back to your little town."

"How about you, young Zorroo?" Lance asked, a little vexed this time. I'm getting vexed, too. I feel like drain punching him to oblivion. Seriously, what's his problem?

"I'm stayin' with her. It's not like anyone from town will miss me when I'm not there."

"Really, you are staying with Miss Aurora on her trip to town?" He may have asked Jerkwad that but he was looking at me as if to get confirmation. I nodded yes.

"Yeah, I am! And what are you looking at Aurora while you're talkin' to _me_ for?!"

I think I need to step in before things get ugly.

"As fun as this argument is, I'd like to get going before it gets dark. If it does, then I'll have to sleep out here again. Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I _like_ it."

"The good news is you are almost there. You need not walk much longer to your destination."

"Yeeahhh… The thing is that I changed my mind."

"You mean you are not going to Spare Town after all?" Lance asked me.

"Yeah," I answered, "cause I've been doing some thinking after everything I gone through when I was walking. I think it would be better if I stayed in Heartsdale."

Lance didn't say anything more; he simply nodded. Jerkwad, on the other paw, spoke up.

"Great. Just great. If you were going to pick Heartsdale, couldn't you have done it around the beginning?"

"Shut it, Jerkwad. You don't have to follow me everywhere I go, anyways."

"What'd you say!?"

So we started to walk back to Heartsdale, me and Jerkwad fighting along the way. Lance had enough after a few minutes so he bonked Jerkwad hard on the head. He apparently doesn't pay attention to his surroundings when he's fighting with someone. When Jerkwad came to, Lance said he would do it again. That shut him up. It was like that for a little while longer until we saw Omar.

He was surprised to see me again. He was shocked when he heard about Jerkwad's behavior, which is what we're talking about right now. I don't know why we're whispering, though.

"Really? He said that? He _did_ that?" Omar asked in further astonishment. Lance looks just as shocked, hearing what happened when he wasn't around Jerkwad.

"Yeah, he said that. Yeah, he did that," I told them. "Despite him being a pain, he did a decent job taking care of me. I didn't expect him to care."

Omar and Lance looked at each other; then they turned back to me.

"We didn't expect him to care about anyone either," Omar quietly told me. "Zorroo either stays inside or explores far beyond Heartsdale all the time. He never tried making friends or bonding with anyone. He's never even tried being tolerable."

"That seems to be changing upon meeting _you_, Miss Aurora," Lanced chimed in.

Now_ I'm_ shocked. "What do you mean?"

"We mean," Lance explained, "young Zorroo has not have been concerned so about anyone before. You are the first one we have seen him worrying about someone else. Perhaps, if you are willing, young Zorroo can become, uh, well…"

"Better?" I finished for him.

"You have to admit he could use a different personality from his already wonderful one," Omar said sarcastically.

"I agree. Why, thinking back to last week, he…"

That was when those two guys walked down memory lane, not just the path back to Heartsdale. While they were doing that, I got to thinking about what they said to me.

On one paw, they're maybe onto something. I mean, if Jerkwad is changing for the better and I'm the cause of it, then I can give him a much-needed attitude change. On the other paw, I still don't want any more to do with him because I can't just simply let_ that_ night go, especially if I keep interacting with the rapist day after day. Back on the first paw, however, Jerkwad has made it clear he going to stick by me regardless of anything so it looks like I'm gonna have to.

While Lance and Omar were still going down memory lane and I was in my thoughts, I felt something grab me by the shoulders and pull me backwards.

I flinch in their grasp; I rotated my head to see Jerkwad.

"Hey, what were you talking about with those guys?"

"None of your business! Let go of me!" I shake kind of wildly to get loose.

He let go of me. "All right! All right! Do you need that stick again? You left it at the clearing I showed ya so I picked up it in case you need it."

"Oh, you had trouble walking, Miss Aurora? I can give you my shoulder for support," Lance offered me. Before I could respond, Jerkwad got, well,_ weird_.

"She doesn't need your shoulder. Mine's good enough."

"No, it's _not_," I protested. "I don't need that stick, either. Why'd you pick it up for me to begin with?"

"I didn't think you wanted me to touch you. So I found something you can use to stand yourself up. But if you're going to use a shoulder, then it's going to be mine!"

"I can stand up just fine right now! So there's no need for you to do that! Come on! Let's get going!" I pretty much exclaimed, rushing us to home when I noticed Lance and Omar's facial expressions. One was dumbfounded and the other looked like they were going to tease me so much about something.

Man, I don't know what to feel about what Jerkwad said. First, returning my pokeball. Then, making sure I ate. Now, the reason behind getting me the stick. I guess I can change Jerkwad to the point where I just can't call him Jerkwad anymore, but no promises.

The guys told me to wait for them but I kept fast-pacing until we got to Heartsdale. It wasn't like they don't know where I'm going and they had only minor difficulty keeping up with me. Especially Jerkwad.

When I came back, everyone was pleasantly surprised to see me. I told them I changed my mind and they became very happy. Especially Gus, much to Lance's embarrassment. With Lance's word, Jerkwad managed to stick around for the party everyone decided to hold for me to celebrate my return.


	6. First Day on the Job

Chapter 6 – First Day on the Job

"GAH! I'm up! I'm up!"

Damn, I'm still not used to Lillian out there singing seriously off-key. Nana would wake me up early, too, but she definitely didn't do it like this.

I was going to wash and fix myself up for today until I heard a certain bug through my window.

"Ro! Ro! Ro-oo! Ro, Ro, Ro, Ro, Ro, Ro-"

"What. Is it?" I didn't feel particularly happy. The wake-up call throughout the neighborhood is going to take some getting used to.

"I came by to say hi. I do it every morning with everyone!"

Looks like this is going to take some getting used to, too.

"Um, morning, Lillian."

"Booooooo! Where's the enthusiasm? And call me Lill!"

"Will you just please-"

"Ah! I got to get going! It sucks to have so little time here! I only have enough time to wake up the neighborhood and say hi to them! Toodle-loo!"

I look out the window and see Lill off. She seems like a fun girl, provided when she has enough time for anything other than her job.

Then I heard the voice of a pain down below.

"Aurora!"

"WHAT. IS IT?" Lil is one thing. Jerkwad's another.

"Yeesh! Aren't you a morning person? Come on, let's have breakfast together!"

"What is up with you and eating? And stop showing up at my house!"

"It's not like you're going to come over to _my_ house!"

"Duh! I don't time for you today, even if I actually wanted! I got to get ready for work!" I told him as I left the window.

Man, the first day of having a job. I never worked like how humans have before, like teaching kids at school or building projects of construction. Sure, I trained body, mind, and soul very hard when I was still with Nana. But it doesn't change the fact that I never had a job.

I took up on Connie's offer yesterday for it. She said I'd be doing odd jobs for her and Ivana, odd jobs meaning random tasks popping up due to whatever situation pops up. I guess I can do that; it would help me become well-rounded.

I wonder what Connie and Ivana do, though. They have to have some kind of occupation or something if odd jobs are involved. Well, I'm gonna find out when I get to Connie's house and I just _can't _be late, mainly because my house is almost right in front of hers.

After eating some food I was given by the townsfolk, I groomed my ear fluff and left the house. I went to the beach real quick to wash up because there were no bathrooms. Then I went to Connie's house as fast as I could from the beach.

I was welcomed in by Darwin; Kaz was a little hesitant, probably because he thought I was going to kick him. Darwin told me to go down to their basement. Apparently, that's where Connie makes something that she sells, mainly to adult females. Ivana comes over here, too, because they're business partners.

Darwin led me through the living room to get to the basement. Along the way, I see Kaz getting his moustache braided and decorated with ribbons and such by Abby. Don was heckling him big time. Timmy was struggling lifting up his squared log. I see Wally there, too. That makes sense to me cause Wally's just a baby and has to be nearby the mother. At least Wally's being entertained watching Timmy.

Darwin stopped in front of me and stepped to the side. He gestured to the door on the floor.

"Thanks, Darwin."

"No prob," he replied as he walked away.

I opened the door, expecting some way down. There's a staircase right in front of me; I go down them.

"Connie? You down here?"

"Over here, dear! You're just in time!"

"Just in time for what, anyways? We may have talked over pay already and, honestly, I didn't expect pay. The thing is I don't know is what exactly is it that you and Ivana do if odd jobs are going to appear time to time. You said you'd tell me when I show up here."

"Yes, I did. Come over here and we'll explain."

When I got over there, Ivana all of a sudden draped a green leafy thing over me! I saw a hole in it but I couldn't fit my head through it because of my ears.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Sorry, sweetie. I was trying all last night to make a cloak for a Pokémon with such puffy ears like yours. It seems like I still need to do some more work," Ivana said as she took the thing off of me.

You see, dear," Connie began to explain, "Ivana makes clothes out of leaves for female Pokémon. More specifically, the ones who are old enough by body to have babies. I make something for them, too. I mix the berries and herbs Gus grows to make a concoction of some sort, the kind you would have to rub on yourself. The mixed berries and herbs will muffle the smell of a female in heat. I call them Connie's Concoctions."

"The clothes will help the concoction in masking that kind of scent, too. I call my clothes Ivana's Brands," injected Ivana.

"It's very useful for women who don't want babies, aren't ready for babies just yet, or have decided they have enough babies already," Connie told me.

"Oooo, I could use some of that," I thought out loud.

"I thought so. You can buy them for a cheaper price since you'll be working for us," said Connie.

"Thanks."

"I think the first thing you can do for us is…"

And so my day at work began. It was fairly busy. I had to make myself familiar with the berries and herbs she gets from Gus. That way I can check inventory. I'm even going to learn to mix a concoction or two for times when Connie gets _really_ busy. As for Ivana, I hold the leaves in place so she can stick them together. She also has normal fabrics and cloth, like what humans wear. I'm even going to be Ivana's mannequin from time to time. Hooray to that. She has pins and stuff like that. I don't like pointy things being close to poking me.

I gotta admit one thing, though. These are very unusual berries and herbs. None that I ever even heard of before.

Connie noticed there's a shortage of a specific type of berry she needs and have sent me to Gus to get it for her. I think it's called a Hyper Zuss berry. Hyper because it's the strongest of its kind to mask a female's scent during their mating season. Zuss because of a reason I don't know. I don't usually ask things if it's not important.

Anyways, I was walking over next door to Lance's house to see his dad. I just hope I can keep sane around him. As overwhelming as he is, Lance wouldn't like it if I gave him a dead dad today.

I was just about to knock on the door when, suddenly, it opened. I was surprised. Nolan was at the door.

"What are you doing here, Nolan? I thought you lived in a different house," I said.

"I work for Gus," he replied. "Darwin does, too, but it's his day off." He looked a little withdrawn.

"Cool. But what is it that you do for Gus?"

"All kinds of stuff. It depends on what happens at work."

"You mean odd jobs for Gus?"

"That sounds about right. I was on my way just now to do something for him." Then Nolan looked a little curious. "What are you doing here by the way?"

"I do the same job as yours, but for Connie rather than Gus. And I need to get some berries for Connie. I think it is Hyper Zuss berries."

"Oh, ok. If I remember right, there should be some in the garden out back. Follow me. Then I would have to go."

Nolan is more chatty than Darwin, but still not very talkative. I guess he's nervous around new faces. As I walked in, though, I felt a pair of burning eyes directed at me. I have a feeling I know who _that_ is.

The garden, when I was there, was _amazing_. So many berries and herbs I never laid my eyes on. Too many for me to describe them at the moment. I'm not going to think in deep detail on seeing Gus; he gave a serious headache. I was completely engulfed in his not so subtle way of telling me to date his son. He probably would have set up a date, too, if it wasn't for Lance taking Karla to the beach to play today during the time I spent at their house.

In the end, I got the berries I needed and left the house before I screamed my head off.

"You working for mummy daddy now? Didn't muscle mom give you a job?"

Never mind to that. I might do worse than scream my head off if I have to deal with him.

"Yeah, I'm working for Connie. What's it you?"

"What's it to me is that you were at formal boy's house. Why won't you come over to my house?"

"Because I don't want to?"

"I could make it look nice if that's the problem."

"How much of a dickhead can you be?"

"I can take only a lot of those insults of yours, you know."

"I don't typically want you around."

"You'll switch that opinion around."

"No, I won't."

"Oh, yeah, you will. Starting with not going to formal boy's house anymore. I can take care of the both of us no problem."

"Just leave me alone! I have a job to do!" I am close to losing whatever patience that I have left after seeing Gus back in his house.

"Quit being bitchy about everything, would ya? Just come with me."

"You tell me I'm being bitchy one more time…" I almost taunted him in doing so. I'm very tempted to do what I want to do.

"You're being bitchy."

Holy Arceus. He was actually taunting _me_. Well, I don't care. It's a good excuse to sock it to 'em. I unleash a yell of stress and anger and jumped on Jerkwad.

It was quite a scene. There was much punching, kicking, biting, and harsh tugging of fur. For me, harsh tugging of fur followed by more kicking. We didn't use any battle moves, probably because we were conscious enough to remember that we were still in an inhabited area.

Our little bout must have been enough to draw attention from every resident of Heartsdale who was there at the time. Eventually, the violent words of our fight has spread to Gus, the one who supplies my employers with what they need, and Connie and Ivana, the ones who gave me my job. I have to admit. What I did was perhaps not the best thing to do in front of their houses.

Omar was sent to get Lance from the beach. When he got here, Lance bonked Jerkwad hard on the head. Then he wrapped his arms around me, trapping my arms to my sides. Lance was careful not to poke me with the horn thing on his chest. I'm impressed by him, though. He's taking care not to hurt me, but still has enough strength to hold me back.

On the other paw, however, I'm a little uncomfortable, too. Maybe I don't like being trapped by a man like this. Lance is unusually strong, too, since he had no problem to keep his grip on me.

On the bright side, I don't have to necessarily worry this time. It's Lance. He actually gives a damn on how I feel, unlike Tristan, his Pokémon, or Jerkwad.

I wonder, though. Where the hell did Lance and Jerkwad go to become so strong? I gotta ask about that later.

What I gotta do right now is deal with Connie, Ivana, and Gus. They did not look happy. They even look disappointed. That feels different in a very bad way. It also feels weird. Nana's never been disappointed in me for anything, mainly cause I've never done anything to make her feel that way.

"I can't believe you two, fighting the way you did," Connie began the lecture. "It was ridiculously unprofessional of you, Aurora. You can't pick fights with everyone who bothers you, even if they're with others who are like Zorroo. There are better ways to deal with the likes of them. And the berries! You could have crushed the berries! You were so lucky only two or three of them got ruined, but might not be as lucky next time!"

"Not that we want a next time," added Ivana.

"You need to shape up if you want to date _my_ son," said Gus, almost completely changing the subject. Seriously, is he going to get on that topic at every chance he gets?

"Father, please focus," Lance told his dad.

"Sorry, everybody," I mumbled.

"If you're really sorry, then you should avoid doing so from now on," Connie countered.

"You're also lucky that we're practically a family," Ivana said. "You would have fired on the spot should what you have done happened anywhere else."

"This was a great lesson and all for us, but maybe we can get going…"

"Oh, no, Zorro," Connie said as Lance blocked his way. "You're just in as much trouble as Aurora is, mister!"

"You never have gotten along with anyone in Heartsdale. Now you made a bad first impression on a new member of the family. You're not welcomed anywhere else like how you are in Heartsdale. So perhaps it would be a good idea to not do so many bad things that we would have to kick you out?" Ivana lectured Jerkwad.

_You would be doing a good thing by running a bad Pokémon out of town,_ I thought.

There's one thing surprising, though. Maybe even bewildering me. I'm already part of the family? I've been here for only about three days. Well, I guess I just don't know how to view others as family the way the Heartsdale citizens do.

Gus said something other than me dating his son for a change. "Zorroo, perhaps you have something to apologize for as well?"

"And why should I? And for what?"

"Young Zorroo…" Lance warned him.

"All right! All right! Get that fist away from me! I'm sorry!"

That conflict was resolved and everything resumed as it was. I apparently still kept my job but now an inner conflict popped up in me. All of this just bugs me and I can't get myself to stop thinking about it. Connie and Ivana may not be mad about it anymore or at least I hope not but I'm still bothered. They definitely don't look as happy as before.

These berries must be more special than I even realize. Now I feel bad that I crushed some of them. Connie still has the amount that she needs but it doesn't make me feel any better. I felt this way all day. Jerkwad probably doesn't feel anything but self-satisfaction. Damn bastard.

I feel bummed out because of what I did. At the same time, I feel pissed because of that guy. He started this! Damn him, damn him, damn him!

Then I heard laughter. I turned around and saw the source. It was Ivana and Connie.

"What's so funny?" I tried to hold some of my anger back because I'm still irritated from thinking of a certain someone today. It sounded like to me I failed in doing that.

"Sweetie, relax," assured Ivana. "Yes, we didn't like that you were reckless today. But as long as you think about what you've done, and as long as you don't do it again, then it's fine. Besides, you look like to me that you have done enough thinking for today."

"Overthinking, even," added Connie.

Laughter resumes.

It didn't quite make my current feelings go away, but did make me feel better a little bit. I manage to get through the day all the same and without incident, though that's maybe because I wasn't let out of Connie's house until my day at work was over.

I got out and what's the first thing I see? Him. And I can't really avoid him since he's right in the middle of the clearing.

"I got in trouble once today and I've been feeling weird about it the entire time since. I don't intend for the same thing to happen _again_. So let me get in my house."

"I don't want what happened today to happen again, either, but too bad about getting home. We need to talk."

I groan in a slightly disgusted kind of way. "That sounds like we're a couple or something."

"Yeah, I _wish_ we were a couple. Right now, I have to settle for something."

Then he took my paw and dragged me to wherever he's gonna take me. I tried shaking out of Jerkwad's grip but, once again, it's iron.

Looks like he taking me out of Heartsdale. We just passed houses 1 and 9.

"Uh, where are we going?"

"Somewhere to talk."

Something tells me I'm not going to get further information until we get to 'somewhere to talk'. We walked for a while until we reached the beach. Then Jerkwad stopped and let go of my paw.

"You try to run away and I'll hunt you down. I won't hesitate tying you up, either."

I subconsciously backed away, eyes opened wide in fear.

He looked mildly surprised and mildly irritated. Then he slapped his paw on his forehead.

"I didn't mean it _that_ way, you blockhead! I want you to hear what I have to say!"

"It's not so far of a stretch if it's you we're talking about."

"Ok, I confess, I'm not the best to hang around with, but hear me out. I don't just want you to hear what I wanna say to you. I want you to really think about it."

I guess I got no choice. One thing I know for sure about Jerkwad is that he's pushy and won't give up easily in getting what he wants. Besides, I suddenly feel compelled to listen to Jerkwad. There was something in his voice and his face that makes me think he's being honest and serious about it.

"Ok, fine. Go ahead."

"Look, I know for sure and without doubt that the first time we met each other, it was bad. Obviously too bad for words. But what's been done is done already and we need to be put up with each other enough to stay in town. The worst I've been lately is fighting with you like we're a brother and a sister who can't get along. If you would just give me a chance, then I won't do anything worse than everything I've done to you. Promise."

He said all of that while raising and resting one of his paws over his heart and lifting the other up in the air. I think it's to tell me Jerkwad's telling the truth. Now I need to consider all of this using the 'one paw, other paw' thing.

On one paw, Jerkwad's right about the past. I can't change it, no matter how much I want to. Though times like this make me wish I was friends with Celebi, the Pokémon who can time travel. Finding and bonding with Celebi, however, would be difficult. For a number of reasons.

On the other paw, Jerkwad is a pushy, selfish, most-of-the-time inconsiderate Pokémon. I _sooooo_ do not want to deal with someone like that.

Although, getting back on the first paw, he's made it clear he'll stick by me no matter what. I got to keep that in mind at all times. So I guess tolerating him is the first step to making my life easier to bear. Plus the first step to getting over what Jerkwad did to me a few nights ago.

Finally, I answer, "I'm going to hold you to that promise of yours."

Jerkwad brightened up noticeably. "Sure, but I would like it if you promise to be nicer to me. It would make it easier for me to keep true to my word."

_Of course you do._

"Deal."

"And maybe you would start calling me Zorroo instead of Jerkwad? Or at least _some_ nicer name than Jerkwad?"

"Nope. At the moment, you're still a Jerkwad. That's what I'll call you."

He sighed. "All right. Fair enough. Shake on it?" He asked with an extended arm and paw.

I still felt reluctant to take that paw. I recall saying that I would have to be in hell before I take it. I guess I'm technically on my way to hell if I don't grab it. If I don't, then Jerkwad will make Heartsdale hell for me, especially since I can't get him off my back.

In the end, I shake Jerkwad's paw. I didn't try to get out of this one but it makes me feel more and more nervous by each second that passes with my paw in his. Jerkwad was shaking our paws for a while, too. I bet he's liking this.

I try to say something. "Uhh, Jerkwad?"

"Um?"

"I think we can stop now."

"Oh, right," he says as he hesitatingly lets go.

"I guess I'm glad we worked something out. Now all that's left is for Seviper and Zangoose everywhere being best friends to each other."

"I guess we get to fuck when they start to fuck each other. Speaking of fucking, I promise to do you only when you want me to."

And I lost it.

"I WON'T EVEN LET YOU FUCK MY LIFELESS CORPSE! YOU SHITHEAD!" I screamed as I clobbered him on the head as hard as I could. Then I stormed off back to Heartsdale.

Eventually, I heard Jerkwad. "Hey! What the hell was that, hitting me on the head all of a sudden?"

"It wasn't sudden! You deserved to be hit on the head, you _idiot_!"

We kept fighting like this long after we got to Heartsdale. I was busy countering everything Jerkwad said but I think I noticed some residents of town rolling their eyes and shaking their heads. They probably figured they're going to see a lot more of this while Jerkwad and I stay in town.

Now that I think about it, maybe that's why Lance looked normal while we were being eaten alive and then spat out by his dad and my employers. It was because he was the first one out of everyone to picture the scene I'm having with Jerkwad right now happening over and over again.

This isn't exactly the kind of impression I wanted to give to everyone. Although, I guess the silver lining would be that I'm somehow part of this family after just three days. If they can accept Jerkwad, they'll do the same with me, faults and all.


	7. Zorroo

Surprise! Aurora isn't the only one we'll view the story through. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7 – Zorroo

Bored. Bored. So very bored.

But I'm not gonna move from this damn tree. At least I'm smart enough to have picked a tree with food growing on it.

Today's August 13. We get things from other lands so it's a no brainer we would know something like that because of our town calendar. Heh. There's a hot girl in town. She didn't know we had things like calendars until yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday and the hot girl, I spent all yesterday trying to hook up with her. I couldn't do that very well for a whole bunch of reasons.

One thing is cause of her new job. That takes up too much of her time that she _should_ be spending warming up to me.

Another thing is cause of formal boy. Bleh. I don't get what's so great about him. He's so uptight. He doesn't even say things like 'can't' or 'don't'. That's how stiff he is. He's always been like that as far as I know the guy. And formal boy's more likely to think about how to take care of his niece and dad. He's always been like that, too.

One more thing is that _she's_ high strung herself. I get I didn't treat her like a queen the first time we met but I'm hoping she gets over it soon. She can't warm up to me even with all the time in the world if she doesn't even like being alone with me.

Damn, she's so hot. Curvy hips, firm-lookin' ass, and a pretty face. All of that attractiveness and she has a name to match. Aurora. She wants to be called Ro but only the kids back in Heartsdale call her that. And the only reason why is cause they can't say her full name right. Her full name is better than her nickname so I don't know why she wants a nickname.

It's not just her looks. Everything she is on the inside is interesting, too. Aurora is strong, independent, and feisty. Not like those weak sauce girls I usually meet. She _can_ be nice when she's around friends so she's not all that nice to me. Aurora looks cute whenever she finds out something new, something she wasn't expecting. She also looks like that when she's just learning how to interact with others. I could teach her everything she has to know if I could just get close to her.

Aurora has some skills, too, grooming her fur and ears with those tiny, little fingers of hers. I bet they'd be great for giving me a handjob if she manages somehow to get all that fluff in her ears to look nice. If we had a good first time…

_Aurora and I would be in the clearing we went to a few days ago, just spending the day together. We wouldn't even be there to eat. It's just that I apparently need an excuse to hang out with her._

_We would look at the sky and she would be wrapped in my arms._

_I offer her a massage to make the day seem more relaxing. She accepts. I begin at her shoulder, pressing against her muscles gently. Aurora feels good from that massage. She even smiles that cute smile she'd have on her face when I look at her from a distance._

_I work on her a little lower on her back. I hear her let out muffled sounds of contentment. At that moment, I decide to get bolder. I lower myself down to her hips. She becomes a little surprised, but lets me continue._

_As I work on her hips, she starts to fidget slightly. She fidgets even more when I reach her thighs. I stop massaging at that point. Instead, I stroke the smooth fur on her legs._

_I whisper to her ear, "There's another clearing around here. It's more private than this one."_

No kidding. There actually was another clearing some lengthy distance from that one. I so would have gone there with her if I got things going in _that_ direction.

Getting back to my fantasy here, Aurora would say to me,_ "You jerk, leaving me like this. Now I got to get rid of this feeling somehow."_

_"If you want to get rid of it, then come with me. I'll take care of it."_

_She looks cute and flustered. Then she nods, giving me permission to do whatever the hell I want with her. I help her up and lead her to the more private clearing. It looks exactly like the first one, but without the river and rocks and there's a lot more trees._

_Aurora lays down on the ground. I stare at her attractiveness, the biggest attention grabber being that pink, swollen pussy. As much as I would like to get to that, I wait. I know I would need to get her body fired up more first._

_I reach down and put my mouth over her one of her tits. She gasps at the sudden movement. She calms down when I stroke her arms. I flick my tongue over the nipple, attacking it in tiny lashes. Aurora squirms under the firm but soft grip I have on her. I do the same things I've been doing to her other nipple._

_Before I know it, Aurora's already trying to grind her pussy by pressing her legs together. I grab hold of her legs and pull them apart. Judging by the way more and more precum is being made, that puddle is on its way to becoming a lake._

Oh, great. I feel something down below breaking me from my fantasy. I looked down. Yup, that was my cock. It's getting hard. Well, I might as well jack off if I'm fucking Aurora in my imagination.

Back to my fantasies again, this time masturbating, _I put my mouth over her pussy this time, gripping her arms again. I give this part of her the same treatment as her tits, but with lashes a little stronger and longer than before. Aurora wiggles even more under my grip._

_I'm almost done getting her all fired up. She needs to shake so much that she's practically having a seizure. To do the trick, I stick my tongue inside. I pump it in and out, like I would my cock. Which I would do soon enough._

_A little while after I do that, it works. Aurora's moving as much as I planned for her to do. She looks up at me with begging eyes, her mouth opening to beg me even more._

_"Please… please dive into me… but don't let it hurt! Please!"_

_"Sure thing, sexy thing. But you're probably gonna want to cover your mouth somehow." Then I let go of her arms. She covered her mouth as soon as I do._

_I let out a small chuckle. I wouldn't be able to help it; she looks cute enough to put babies to shame._

_Focusing on more important matters, I put my little friend in front of hers. It would be about time the two of them met and I plan to introduce them. It has to be nice, slow, and with great care. If it's not anything like that, then they wouldn't want anything to do with each other. That lesson I learned the hard way in real life._

_I poke the tip through her tunnel. I try to go in slowly. I see some pain etched in Aurora's face. Her pain becomes more noticeable as I go in deeper and deeper. Finally, I hit something in there along the way._

_I look at Aurora. "This is gonna hurt, but only for a little while. And it would just be the first time, too. You up for it?"_

_She didn't answer. She nodded instead. Well, who cares? What's important is I got her approval._

_At the fastest speed I can be, I plunge right in. Aurora screams through her little paws. Even when it was covered, the scream was still kinda loud. I go in and out as slow as I could in her. I caress her face like she's gonna break at any moment. But I knew better. This is Aurora I'm thinking of. Real world or daydreams, she can deal with some pain. It's just that it would help her if she had some comfort. It seemed to be working because Aurora wrapped her arms around my neck. Well, she_ tried _to but my mane was kinda too big. Aurora switched to around my chest, paws linking at my back._

_"Faster."_

_I was more than happy to accommodate her. If Aurora wants it faster, then that's what she'll get. It'll please me, too. Even when I going in and out of her at an increased speed, it was still kinda slow. We're going at this one step at a time._

_"Faster." She sounds like she's enjoying it now. Apparently, she wants to take this one step at a time faster than I thought she would want to. I go even faster. After a while, Aurora spoke up again._

_"As fast as you can!"_

_"Not unless you call out my name properly. No more calling me Jerkwad."_

_I even go a little slower to show I mean it. Aurora looked bothered by that, obviously._

_"Fine! Zorroo, pump in and out of me as fast as you can! Zorroo!"_

I smile at the thought. In the fantasy, I smile at finally being called the right name.

_Then my movements become as swift and powerful as I can make it. She presses her face against my shoulder to muffle those outbursts of pleasure. I don't want them to be like that. I want them to be loud and clear. I gently push her away from my shoulder with one of my arms._

_"Hey, what are you-"_

_"I want to hear you. Come on, yell out to your heart's content!"_

_"But – AH! – it's – UM! – embarrassing! OH!"_

_"I picked a private place for such a thing like this. So no need to worry! Trust me, Aurora!"_

_She still looks doubtful, but didn't cover up her screams at that point. Lovely sounds of Aurora enjoying it floods my ears. It excites my cock even more. I realize I'm close._

_"Aurora, I'm gonna come!"_

_"Go ahead and cum! I want to feel your cum in me!"_

_After some thrusting, I come. I came so much that I end up frosting her lower front entirely with my spunk. I'm still hard after that so I keep moving. After some more thrusting, Aurora speaks up this time._

_"I'm, I'm gonna- AH! – come!"_

_"Go ahead. Let it out."_

_And so she does, letting out a lovely moan. I pop my thing out of her when the high has died down. For Aurora, at least. For me, the high is half-dead._

_Then Aurora surprises me by getting up, bending over, and got her face near my cock. I pushed back her head._

_"Wha-what are you-"_

_"What? Can't I return the favor? You were really nice to me just now. I realized you and I could be a good couple if we tried. So… please?" She asks with big, wide Lillipup eyes._

Damn. Even when I'm just picturing her with those kind of eyes in my mind, I feel like doing or allowing her to do anything she wanted. And even in my daydreams, I'm beaten by those eyes.

_"Ok, fine. All you have to do is put it in your mouth and make your head go up and down. You have to keep it in your mouth the entire time."_

_I wouldn't tell her any exact details about blowjobs cause it would be her first one given to a guy. No need to stress her out with anything more than the basic stuff._

_Aurora does exactly what I tell her. It would mean something if I said it felt heavenly. Like I died at that moment and went to that place. I'm sure it would feel just like how I'm imagining right now. The blowjob's kinda clumsy, but still felt awesome._

_She bobs her head up and down. It goes on for a while. I lose myself a little and grab her head. Then I start face-fucking her. I touch Aurora from behind her ears lovingly to keep her calm. It works. I pulled my cock out of her mouth and this time frosted her face with my cum._

In the real world, I come around that time. Good thing I also picked a tree that covers me up quite nicely. I finish the rest of my fantasy.

_Aurora looks up at me. "Did it feel good?" she asks._

_I smile at her. "Yeah, it did. Thanks, princess."_

_I got up and then helped my lady up. Then I scooped her up and placed her up in a tree._

_"Why am I up here?"_

_"I need to clean you up, that's why. But I don't anyone seeing you. Especially guys. If they see you, then they might wanna do weird stuff to ya. Just wait here, all right?"_

_And so I get stuff from the first clearing to clean her up. I bring them over, get Aurora down, and wash her. I soon saw the drop-dead gorgeous gal in front of me. I swear, her looks are almost deadly. It should outlawed and locked away. I would be more than thrilled to be the guard._

My fantasy finishes with us hugging and kissing each other like a couple should when sex isn't gonna follow. I may not like that kind of mushy stuff but every couple has to do it every once a while, right?

That's what our first time would be like if I could make it happen. I'd treat her right. She'd be my princess, like how I sometimes call her. We'd be one of those couples who would always be together.

But I know everything was entirely from my imagination. The real Aurora would never be like that. Even if I finally have loving sex with her, it would definitely not be anything like how I just pictured. Oh, well. I'll take the real thing over dreams any day. I just gotta make it happen.

One day Aurora will look at me swooning over me being near her; not looking at me with anger mixed with a little fear when I'm right next to her. Aurora will see somehow, someway that I'll treat her like she's the only piece of treasure in the world left.

I slipped a little and grabbed a branch as I was stepping off of the tree. I was a little surprised at myself. I never leave a tree I'm perched on like a Pidove in this area on this day. I actually almost got off. All because I wanted to see her.

Wait, why am I on this tree again?

Oh, yeah. It's because of them. I got back on the tree. Then I got to thinking. I wonder what they would think of me if they saw me now.

Aurora has an influence on me for sure. I thought she looked pretty the first night I met her and I was attracted to her even more as we fought. Not many, people or pokemon, can even hold their own when they go up against _me_ in a fight. She was beauty and brawns wrapped up in one package. I can't even get hard around other girls anymore.

It was a bit of hell trying to find her in the morning after that battle we had but I found her. I thought it was cute that Aurora thought she could lose a dark-type pokemon in the shadows. I scared the shit out of her, too, seeing how she jumped and landed on her ass. At that moment, seeing her more clearly in the light, I thought she was more than just pretty. She was, like I said, drop-dead gorgeous. I promised her and myself that I would never do anything bad to her. Ever.

I'm going to do just that tomorrow when I come back to Heartsdale. I just need to get past the patrol guards between Heartsdale and Spark City.

I said before I can't even get hard around other girls. So that means I have trouble creating hot girls with my illusions. I was able to cast illusions perfectly when I was a weakling. But when I got stronger, I didn't have that much use for them and I kinda lost my edge. I lost my edge even more now that I met Aurora. I can't picture any hot girl except for her. I actually have to look at other girls before I could make the images in my head come to life. Plus, I had to make sure they would be girls the patrol guards could be into. I nearly got past them without being caught the first time. It's gonna be tricky getting past them a second time.

Well, even if I get caught by those guards and get in trouble again with Heartsdale, I'm still gonna make myself sound cool. I can't ever look dorky in front of Aurora. I don't think she'll become mine if I'm a dork.


	8. Crouching Rabbit, Unhidden Jealousy

Chapter 8 – Crouching Rabbit, Unhidden Jealousy

Another morning, another off-key wake-up call. It's now the 14th of August. Good to know we have calendars, even if Jerkwad teased me about not knowing about it. Personally, I think it's important to keep track of time.

Anyways, I get up and groom myself. I have done my ears first, of course. I was particularly excited about today. Lance told me yesterday about a dojo some way from Heartsdale. Considering a certain someone just up and left yesterday, I immediately went there and checked it out after I was done with work. Lance accompanied me along the way.

It was a large, square building. It was divided into four smaller squares, each one being a room. One of the rooms were for beginners, another one for experts, and there was a room for those in between. The remaining room was filled with all sorts of exercise equipment that washed ashore on Victory Island. Everyone there doesn't just fight regular battles, but also pokemon battles.

I met the manager/owner/experts' class instructor of the dojo, a Blaziken who goes by the name of Ben. He was more than happy to have me join the building dedicated to learning and honing fighting skills. Ben must be a very busy pokemon if he has that many responsibilities due to his many occupations.

I was placed in the class for experts as soon as everyone saw my skills against Ben. He held back at first just in case I was more like beginner's level. Then he put in more effort when he saw I wasn't. Then I beat him in the fight. After that brawl was over, Ben and I discussed how much it would cost and all that stuff.

At the dojo now, I don't think I'm ever going to be challenged by anyone less than an expert skill-wise. Still, today would be the second day of the dojo and I even got a day off today. I don't know if day offs are supposed to work like that but, since there wasn't much for me to do anyways, I'm happy.

I get out for breakfast in the clearing like everybody does. Although they sometimes eat in their own houses, they usually eat out in the clearing with all of their neighbors. I was sitting next to Lance, talking to him while his family talked to others.

Everything was all peaceful and stuff until some screech out of nowhere came along.

"LANCE! LANCE! LAAAAANCEE! I'M BAAACCK!" Then it calmed down considerably. "Oh, and everyone, too! I'm back from my trip. And Milo's with me!"

"Oh, no. Her." It was Gus who said that. His expression with a grudge surprised the hell out of me! Especially if he's always been a happy but overwhelming guy as far as I've known him.

"Who _was_ that to begin with?" I ask. "And who's Milo?"

Before anyone could answer, someone wedged themselves between me and Lance, kind of pushing me away.

I get up and take a look at who shoved me.

This pokemon had purple, maybe lavender, fur. There were really long pieces of fur near the paws; they look like they can be used as whips. Taking a look on the face, it had all kinds of markings. One thing I noticed about the face was something similar to a mustache. That mustache thing looked the same as the tail. Even if I do see a mustache-like thing, it must be natural for a pokemon like this because I'm hearing a feminine voice coming out through the mouth.

"Lance! Karla! Uh, Gus! And everyone else! Hi! We're back from our trip! I can't wait to tell you all about it."

"I look forward to it, Miss Mina. Unfortunately, it will have to be after the dojo closes, all right?"

"Ah! You're right! I got to get over there! You'll come along with me over there, won't you?"

"Listen here, Mina, you better-" Gus started.

"Fatherrrrrrrrr…" Lance warned him. This is _weird_, seeing Gus behave like this. Lance turned to Mina. "Of course, I will go with you to the dojo. Besides, I was going to join Miss Aurora there today anyway," Lance said, extending his hand out for me to take.

Then she turns to look at me. She hid it but I saw she didn't quite like seeing me here.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Aurora, but you can call me Ro. I'm a Lopunny. And you are….?"

"Mina. A Mienshao."

Yep, this 'Mina' is a real peach.

"And this 'Milo' you kept exclaiming about it is…"

I think I saw her cheeks look pinkish, probably feeling a little embarrassed. "My brother. A Mienfoo."

Then Lance joined in. "Miss Aurora, Miss Mina is one of our neighbors who were gone on a week-long trip to Spark City, the largest settlement on this island. She took her brother, Young Milo, with her. Here he is."

He gestured to a little yellow and red pokemon. There were two grey circles on his forehead. He has a tail and smaller mustache-like thing that kind of look like Mina's.

Milo smiles and waves at me. I smile and wave back. At least he'll be a bigger party than his sister. And their trip explains why I haven't seen them since I got here.

Lance turned to Mina next. "Miss Mina, this is Miss Aurora. She has become a new resident of Heartsdale, starting from the day right after you left."

"Oh. Lovely. Nice to meet you… Ro, right?" she said this through gritted teeth.

"Yeah. Feeling's mutual."

Feeling's ice cold, that's what it is.

"I am afraid we will have to carry this conversion with us while we walk. As you know, the dojo opens early. Miss Mina, go ahead and get some fruits and berries. Then we will be on our way."

"Oh, yes, I will! Milo, you be sure to eat, too. Ivana or Connie will look after you, won't you?"

"Of course we will, Sweetie. You have to work, after all."

"Thank you! Come on, Lance!" Mina was even tugging at Lance's arm after she gathered all the food she was planning to eat.

I was getting ready to go, too, packing some food away in my ears. Before I could join Lance and Mina, Gus stopped me.

"Keep on your guard, Aurora. This girl is cunning, crafty, doesn't hesitate one bit to get what she wants-"

"Yet she's a good enough pokemon to stay here in Heartsdale?" This time I can understand why we're whispering.

"What do you mean 'good enough'? I don't think she's good enough for _my_ son."

"She has to be good enough for _someone_. You did say these spirits of this island play matchmaker. And they wouldn't let bad pokemon be on this island, right?"

"That doesn't mean it has to be with my son! Don't ever stop trying to win my son's heart!" Gus pretty much stopped whispering.

"FATHER! THAT IS ENOUGH!" He took hold of my arm and whisked me away from his crazier-than-usual dad. Laughter was clearly heard behind us as we walked away.

Off we went on the path I took before when I wanted to go to Spare Town. We came across a side path that goes to the right. I remember seeing that the last time I took this path but I didn't go down that one. I'm taking it now and I will always take it from now on if I want to get to that dojo.

This would be more fun if I could actually talk to Lance every once in a while. But Mina seems absolutely determined to make sure I don't talk to him. She's seeing to it personally that Lance doesn't talk to me, either.

I don't like feeling like this. No one's talking to me or anything. I was feeling a little irritated until, suddenly, I hear something behind me. Again.

"Why don't we have a little chat, too? Formal Boy seems to be busy with Ms. Whips."

I jump practically three feet in the air. _Again._ But this time, I crashed-landed on Lance as I jumped.

Everyone was surprised. I had the crap scared out of me by Jerkwad for the third time now. Lance was caught off guard, what with me unintentionally using him as a cushion for my fall. And Mina wasn't expecting me to do that to Lance, either. I did expect her to not be happy about it.

"Ro! What are you doing? You knocked Lance down!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? It's definitely not dancing ballet."

Jerkwad laughed as he walked toward us. "That's a good one, Aurora." Then he let out his paw for me to grab. I got up and off of Lance myself.

"Thanks but no thanks, Jerkwad. Sorry about that, Lance."

He got up, too, with Mina wrapping herself around his shoulders like a scarf.

"It is fine, Miss Aurora. I am surprised, too, to find Young Zorroo here."

"Like I'd leave you with her. Where are you all going, anyways? Aurora didn't even see me back today."

"Like I wanted to see you come back. Besides, you never told me when you'd be back to begin with."

"Ok, fine. I'll tell you next time so you won't be worried about me."

"I wasn't worried."

"But where are you all going? I asked that question already."

"We are going to the dojo near Heartsdale," Lance answered. "Miss Mina, as you already know, works there. And Miss Aurora is going to be a regular there."

"Hold on a second. Mina works at the dojo?" I'm a little surprised by that.

"Oh, right. I am sorry. That detail slipped my mind. Yes, Miss Mina does work at the dojo. She instructs the class for beginners. Again, I am sorry for forgetting to tell you."

Well, that explains why she's heading over to the dojo. Before I could assure Lance it was okay, Jerkwad spoke up.

"Hey, Aurora, that sounds like a good idea, you joining that dojo. You _do_ need to keep that body of yours in check. I'm joining you guys."

I felt like protesting, but decided against it. I will pound Jerkwad for what he said about keeping my body in check later, though. Then Mina asked the question that I originally wanted to.

"The last I checked, Zorroo, you always seem to have better things to do than hang out with us. Why the sudden change?"

"To be honest, it's just Aurora. You two can do and go wherever you want."

"It would be nice if you actually cared about my friends, Jerkwad."

"You can get different ones. Or have just me for company."

"That's a stupid suggestion and you know it."

"Excuse me, Miss Aurora? We really must be heading to the dojo now."

"Oh, yeah. I'm comin'!"

"Don't say that!"

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then your imagination's too vivid!"

And we walked over to the dojo like this. Lance probably would've tolerated it but Mina said she was getting uncomfortable with the constant arguing. He apparently decided to bonk Jerkwad on the head because of that. I told them we can leave him there cause he knows where to find us when he comes to. Lance said he wouldn't have any of that and he carried Jerkwad over his shoulder for the rest of the way. Jerkwad came to when we were almost there to the dojo. It was pretty funny seeing his reaction to finding out he was being carried by Lance the whole way.

After that commotion was done, Mina gone to the beginners' class, ready to teach. Lance made his way back home. I head straight to the class for experts. Jerkwad was following me until he was stopped by Ben. Ben asked him if he was joining, too. Jerkwad, unfortunately for me, was also placed in the experts' class after having had a battle with him.

Jerkwad fought a fight or two, but mainly sat in the sidelines to watch me fight. I was trying my hardest not to be distracted by him looking at me the entire time. But it was kind of pissing me off while he did that. And I would get even madder than I was before, unintentionally letting loose too much of my anger over time. Ben said I should clam down and stay that way before I could fight anyone else. I'm apparently too dangerous when I'm angry.

Right now, I'm embarrassed. I wanted to lay low for the rest of the day. Jerkwad talked to me while I sat on the sidelines with him did not make me feel any better. Everyone was cool with my apologies but it still humiliated me.

Jerkwad was off participating in another one of the lessons when I heard someone come up to me. I looked up; it was Mina. I didn't expect to see her here since she's an instructor herself.

"Hey, Mina. What are you doing here? You have students waiting for you, right?"

"I got a break from work. I'm here to challenge you to a battle."

"A battle?"

"Yes, a battle. I'm going to prove to you with my own skills that I'm a stronger and better girl than you!"

"You mind me asking what brought this on?" I thought she didn't like me and it turns out I was right.

"You're ruining my chances with Lance, especially when it involves his dad. I'm giving it my all to get his approval and you're wrecking everything! So I'm challenging you to a battle!"

Oh, this is going to end well.

"I don't think we need to have a fight just cause you're having trouble bonding with Lance's dad."

"What's the matter? You scared?"

"What's the matter? You stupid?"

"At least I can stand up to a fight. Where'd _you_ learn to fight? In a grandma's house?"

That girl stepped on a land mine with that last remark. I was going to let this go but no one insults Nana. At least, it felt like she was being insulted by this jerk with whips. I get up and stare at her right in her eyes.

"You wanna fight so badly? You got it. You're not a beginner, are you?"

Mina looked a little intimidated, but still held her ground. "Of-of course not! So go all out!"

"You might not want to tell me that."

We got ourselves a bit of space for our fight. We put ourselves into the proper positions.

"Battle begin!" Mina exclaimed.

Before Mina could do anything, I took her down with a Shadow Ball. I found out she knew High Jump Kick, which she missed hitting me with. The damage one would get when missing their mark when using a move like that helped me taking her down.

Then I got in trouble with Ben. He wanted to make sure if I really calmed down before I took on that little brawl with Mina. I found out that I'm a really bad liar. Ben found that out, too.

Now Ben was disappointed with me; I really don't like it when someone's disappointed with me. He warned me that if it happens one more time, then I'll be banned from the dojo. That's great. Just plain dandy. My second day here and I already have the possibility of being kicked out of the dojo for good. I know it could be worse but this still didn't feel good.

I didn't quite wanted to stay there anymore; I can't guarantee I won't cause something of a scene again today. I'm sure I'll keep that promise in the future, unless someone taunts me about Nana again, but not today.

Predictably, I was followed by Jerkwad. He was trying to ask me what was wrong. Even if I wanted to answer him, Mina came out and confronted me again.

"Hey! I wasn't finished with you!"

I whipped around to her direction. "_I'm_ through with you, Mina! Quit annoying me!"

"No! You may have beaten me this time but I'm gonna beat you next time!"

"You about done?"

"Don't just shrug me off! You probably don't think it's a big deal but it is!"

I'm in no mood for this nor do I decent control over myself. I decide to leave before this turns ugly. "See ya, Mina!"

"Don't walk away from me!" Then the wacky woman tackled me down to the ground. We were kicking, punching, biting, and pulling fur as we roll over on the ground. I try to hold back this time because I got in trouble for what happened earlier today.

Mina and I were like that for a few minutes before I felt someone separate the both of us. It was Jerkwad.

"All right, girls, playtime's over. Heh-heh. I always wanted to say that."

"Jerkwad, if you keep this up, it'll be one of the _last_ things you say."

"Sorry. Just trying to make things light. The both of you were making it heavy."

"Maybe it wouldn't get heavy if _someone_ wasn't being ridiculous all day long!"

"Maybe you would've had a better day if you didn't get in my way winning Gus over!"

"I wasn't even _thinking_ of 'winning Gus over'! You would have known that if you weren't freaking out over every little detail!"

Then Mina was trying not to cry. She kept her angry face, but was keeping herself from bringing out the waterworks.

Now I kind of feel bad. I don't know if I should; my feelings could just be flip-flopping more than a Magikarp on land cause I usually don't interact with others.

Jerkwad stepped in.

"Ms. Whips, don't start another tumble in the grass. It took me a while to split up the two of you. Especially when I wasn't trying to hurt anyone."

"You know just like everyone else what kind of problems I have. That's why I have to try so hard to get Lance's dad to like me. He's tolerable to me, as tolerable as he can get, but still doesn't want me and Lance together. Does Ro here go through what I do!?"

"No, I don't think she doesn't. But it still doesn't change the fact she's got problems of her own. If you don't know what they are, then back off."

Mina looked much better than before. That's good cause Ben was calling her back in to instruct the class. She went back into the building, wiping her tears off and her face dry.

I really don't like how well I'm dealing with situations like this. I feel like a kid, apparently having all of these holes in my social skills. That's highly likely how I disappointed Ivana, Connie, Gus, and Ben. Plus having almost made Mina cry.

I walked back to Heartsdale, unable to return to the dojo now. At least for today. But I think I'll still feel embarrassed about it tomorrow. Jerkwad was trying to comfort me; it feels weird.

"Aurora, it's fine. Mina started both of those fights. I didn't like that it distracted you from seeing how awesome I was in my fights. But you oughta watch that temper of yours. It's gonna screw you bad one day."

I didn't need to hear that from him. I gave him what I'm sure was the stink eye.

"See? You gotta work on that temper. You got one more reason to if you're gonna get mad at a few words."

I turned my head back to the path and kept walking. I think I'll find someplace to tear something up into teeny, tiny pieces. They'll be too small to pick up without scooping up the dirt beneath it. I succeeded in doing that a few minutes later, having found a couple of empty, rotting, hallow trees. Jerkwad was behind me the entire time. I was still steaming but he didn't anything more than before I smashed the trees.

"Hey, if you want to smash some more stuff, then I think I know a place for that."

I bit my lip harder than a Croconaw would latch onto someone with their jaws. I was gonna explode on Jerkwad like I did on my first day of work. Or Mina today. I had a better reason for losing it and taking it on Mina than I do Jerkwad right now.

He actually defended me today from another possible fight with Mina. Jerkwad's been holding his side of the promise, never doing anything worse than raping me. This is a drastic change in his personality but I'm not complaining about that. Maybe I can do something to make it easier for him like he said he would. Maybe starting with the name I use to refer to him. But it'll be too much of a shock if I just suddenly started calling him Zorroo. I still don't want to, anyways. So I went with the name I thought was a little better than Jerkwad.

"Thanks but no thanks, Jerky."

"Jerky? Did you… just call me… Jerky?" He asked that with a shaky kind of voice.

"I thought it was nicer than Jerkwad."

"I don't want to be called a name of something edible!"

"I could go back to calling you Jerkwad."

"Jerky's fine."

"By the way, Mina was saying something back there about her own problems. What'd she mean?"

"There's no use asking someone who's not even related to the one with the problem. You should ask Ms. Whips herself since it's about her."

Of course I do.

We came back to Heartsdale at the time Jerky said would be lunchtime. Gus was at the very entrance of the town. He said he's been there ever since I left cause he was worried about me. As nice as Gus's intentions are, it's still kind of freaky in my eyes. I was further intimidated when he started grilling me with questions. I notice in the corner of my eye that Jerky was leaving. Hooray.

"Did that Mina do horrible things to you? Unspeakable things? Like laughing at your jokes? Scoffing at your comments? Pushing you into a puddle of mud?"

"All of that don't exactly sound like ideas formed by a criminal mastermind, Gus."

"I just don't like her very much, okay?! She's like a sister you can't stand!"

"I heard it's typical for in-laws to have a relationship like that."

"Aurora, _please_. Stay focused on the subject!"

"She will not stay focused on a subject such as this. Let us be on our way, Father. I am sorry about this, Miss Aurora. I would promise it will not happen again but I am unable to."

"No need to worry. I'll just have to get used to it."

As they were walking away, Gus protesting along the way and Lance rising his counter-arguments against it, Milo approached me.

"Hi, I'm Milo. We saw each other earlier today. What was your name again?"

"Aurora."

"Airrona?"

"Just call me Ro."

"Okay, Ro! Hey, I wanted to ask you somethin'."

"What is it?"

"My sister didn't bother you today, right? She probably felt like you were going to be Lance's girlfriend."

Woah. Wasn't expecting that. I put on what I think is a sheepish expression on my face and attempt to lie, something I'm hoping I can accomplish right now.

"Nnnoooooooooo….." I answer Milo's question softly.

"So that means she did."

"It wasn't..._ that_ bad."

"Yeah and I believe you because you're so convincing."

"Ok, fine, it at least _felt_ that bad to me. There's no need for sarcasm."

"My sister may not seem like the best pokemon around but she is. And I'm not saying it because I'm her brother. She really is. Mina always had to support me. Our parents were never around. Lance is the only one besides me Mina feels happy with. So please cut her a break sometimes, ok?"

I felt so weird. So very weird. As a result, I tell him a piece of truth I think I can tell him.

"Well, uh, if it… makes you, you know, feel any better, then… uh, I'm not trying to take Lance from Mina or anything like that."

Milo smiles. "Thanks, but remember what I said when Mina seems mean."

"Uh, yeah. I'll do that." I hope I'll be able to do that.

"Thanks again, Ro. But if stuff happens that you and Lance are together, then Mina will just have to get through it. I'll be there for her and I'm sure some guy will, too. See ya later, Ro!"

At that, Milo ran off to go play with the other two kids of the neighborhood, Karla and Abigail. They're trying to do gender-neutral activities. Must be a little tough for Milo, no other boys his own age around in Heartsdale. I guess it's good he can play with kids his own age, though.

Watching the kids play on the side of the clearing, I ate my lunch, the usual assortment of berries and fruits.

Perhaps it's okay for Milo to pry. He's Mina's brother after all. I guess I'm just surprised Milo just told me all of that stuff. Milo probably told me this stuff because he's a kid. Possessing a simple yet pure-hearted mind only a child could have, Milo likely just wanted to help his sister out.

I think I'll just have to continue life as I have been since I moved to Heartsdale. I mean, I never thought about Lance in that way. All I've been thinking about since I moved here was how to stand on my own two feet. Maybe it's too soon for me to get a boyfriend to begin with; if only I can get Jerky to understand that.

One thing for sure, it might be better for my health if I just deal with one big thing at a time. Sure, I'll worry about other things when dealing with another thing but I'm certain I'll be fine. I guess I gotta go apologize to Mina when she comes back, though. Hooray.


End file.
